# boatswain

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbəʊ.sən/ · frequency rank #73,006

## Definitions
1. A person aboard ship who is in charge of various maritime affairs.
2. A person aboard ship who is in charge of various maritime affairs.
3. A kind of gull, the jaeger.
4. The tropicbird.

## Etymology
From Middle English botswain, botswein, bote-swayn, from late Old English bātsweġen, from bāt (“boat”) + sweġen (“swain”), the latter element a borrowing from Old Norse sveinn (“boy”); equivalent to boat + swain (“boy, servant”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/boatswain