boatswain's pipe

1. : a silver whistle used by a boatswain's mate (as in relaying orders to the crew or giving orders to winch and crane operators) 2. : the note or notes sounded on the boatswain's pipe.

The Boatswain's call, bosun's whistle, or as Boatswain's Mates call it - a pipe, goes by many names and was heavily used in naval past. “The pipe was historically used to communicate on any deck in open weather,” said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Ryan McWilliams.

The word boatswain has been in the English language since approximately 1450. It is derived from late Old English batswegen, from bat (boat) concatenated with Old Norse sveinn (swain), meaning a young man, apprentice, a follower, retainer or servant.

From an early edition of the Bluejacket´s Manual, “some pipes are improved by scraping the wind edge or edge of the bowl farthest from the pee. It is sometimes necessary to enlarge this hole by scraping as well as by sharpening the edge until the reed strikes the hole fair.

The ceremonial call made on a boatswain's pipe when distinguished visitors arrive on board a Royal Navy warship.

Later the coxswain was the senior deck petty officer or chief petty officer aboard a smaller vessel such as a corvette or submarine, who was responsible for the steering and also assumed the duties which would be performed by the chief boatswain's mate and master-at-arms aboard larger vessels.

A boatswain's call, pipe, or bosun's whistle is a pipe or a non-diaphragm type whistle used on naval ships by a boatswain. The pipe consists of a narrow tube (the gun) which directs air over a metal sphere (the buoy) with a hole in the top.

Examples of boatswain The boatswain dropped the third boat quick as a flash, got free from the ship and began picking up the swimmers. The boatswain grinned in a knowing, mirthless way, that his assistants seemed to understand, for they responded in kind.

Piping the side is one ceremony carried out with the whistle - now reserved for specified members of royalty or those with specific Royal Navy ranks when they come aboard or leave ship - and is performed by literally piping at the side of the ship.

boatswain, also called bosun, ship's officer responsible for maintenance of the ship and its equipment. Before the Royal Navy was established, the term boatswain was applied to the expert seaman on an English merchant vessel.

"Pipes" in this context means your vocal cords, or simply your voice. The singer's "pipes" are famous because she's a famous singer. To "deploy" her pipes means she sang.

1. a hollow cylinder of metal, wood, or other material, used for the conveyance of water, gas, steam, petroleum, etc. 2. a tube of wood, clay, hard rubber, or other material, with a small bowl at one end, used for smoking tobacco, opium, etc.