Definify.com

Webster 1828 Edition


Fireship

FI'RESHIP

,
Noun.
A vessel filled with combustibles and furnished with grappling irons to hook and set fire to an enemy's ships.

Definition 2024


fireship

fireship

See also: fire ship

English

Noun

fireship (plural fireships)

  1. (nautical) A sailing ship that has been set alight and left to drift into an opposing fleet. Famously used by Englishman Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588.
  2. (vulgar, slang) A diseased prostitute.

See also

(boat ablaze):

(prostitute):

References

  • Depraved and Insulting English – Peter Novobatsky & Ammon Shea ISBN 0-15-601149-2