fireship

See also: fire ship

English

Etymology

From fire +‎ ship.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Noun

fireship (plural fireships)

  1. (nautical, historical) A wooden ship set alight and then sent floating into an enemy flotilla, with the aim of spreading the fire among them.
    Synonym: (obsolete) brulot
    Fireships were famously used by Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588.
    • 1984, Witold Rodzinksi, The Walled Kingdom: A History of China from 2000 BC to the Present‎[1], London: Fontana Paperbacks, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 69:
      His attempt in 208 to cross the Yangtse was frustrated in the famous battle of Ch'ih-pi, in which his immense fleet was destroyed by his enemies' fireships, and most of his army slain.
  2. (vulgar, slang) A diseased prostitute.

Translations

See also

(boat ablaze):

(prostitute):

References

  • Depraved and Insulting English – Peter Novobatsky & Ammon Shea →ISBN
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