fireship en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From fire + ship.
Meanings
-
(historical) A wooden ship set alight and then sent floating into an enemy flotilla, with the aim of spreading the fire among them.
Fireships were famously used by Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588.
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.
1984, Witold Rodzinksi, The Walled Kingdom: A History of China from 2000 BC to the Present, London: Fontana Paperbacks, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 69:
- (slang, vulgar) A diseased prostitute.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fire-ship | alternative | lexicographic | |
| fire ship | alternative | lexicographic | |
| fireships | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
fireboat · frenchified · hellburner · venereal disease
Synonyms
Translations (10)
fr brûlot (wooden ship set alight) · de Brandschiff (wooden ship set alight) · ru бра́ндер (wooden ship set alight) · de Brander (wooden ship set alight) · fi polttolaiva (wooden ship set alight) · it brulotto (wooden ship set alight) · el πυρπολικό (wooden ship set alight) · es brulote (wooden ship set alight) · pt brulote (wooden ship set alight) · pl brander (wooden ship set alight)