late 14c., "surround with a ditch; dig a ditch or ditches in;" from ditch (n.). Meaning "to throw into a ditch" is from 1816, later especially "to throw a train off the tracks," hence the slang sense of "abandon, discard (as if throwing into a ditch)," first recorded 1899 in American English, and in reference to aircraft "to bring down into the sea," by 1941. The last might have been from or reinforced by the use of the ditch in naval slang for "the sea" (1922). Related: Ditched; ditching.
"ceremonial investiture with office; act of solemnly or formally introducing or setting in motion anything of importance or dignity," 1560s, from French inauguration "installation, consecration," and directly from Late Latin inaugurationem (nominative inauguratio) "consecration," presumably originally "installment under good omens;" noun of action from past-participle stem of inaugurare "take omens from the flight of birds; consecrate or install when omens are favorable," from in- "on, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + augurare "to act as an augur, predict" (see augur (n.)).
INAUGURATIO was in general the ceremony by which the augurs obtained, or endeavoured to obtain, the sanction of the gods to something which had been decreed by man; in particular, however, it was the ceremony by which things or persons were consecrated to the gods .... If the signs observed by the inaugurating priest were thought favourable, the decree of men had the sanction of the gods, and the inauguratio was completed. [William Smith (ed.), "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities," 1842]
late 14c., "a putting in writing, a written record," from Latin conscriptionem (nominative conscriptio) "a drawing up of a list, enrollment, a levying of soldiers," noun of action from past-participle stem of conscribere "to enroll," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + scribere "to write" (from PIE root *skribh- "to cut").
Meaning "enlistment (of soldiers)" is from 1520s; the sense "compulsory enrollment by lot or selection of suitable men for military or naval service" (1800) is traceable to the French Republic act of Sept. 5, 1798. Technically, a conscription is the enrollment of a fixed number by lot, with options of providing a substitute.
c. 1300, "mail, defensive covering worn in combat," also, generally, "means of protection," from Old French armeure "weapons, armor" (12c.), from Latin armatura "arms, equipment," from arma "weapons" (including defensive armor), literally "tools, implements (of war)," see arm (n.2). Figurative use in English is from mid-14c.
The meaning "military equipment generally," especially siege engines, is from late 14c. The word might have died with jousting if not for 19c. transference to metal-sheathed combat machinery beginning with U.S. Civil War ironclads (the word first is attested in this sense in an 1855 report from the U.S. Congressional Committee on Naval Affairs). The meaning "protective envelope of an animal" is from c. 1600.
late 14c., capitayn, "a leader, chief, one who stands at the head of others," from Old French capitaine "captain, leader," from Late Latin capitaneus "chief," noun use of adjective capitaneus "prominent, chief," from Latin caput (genitive capitis) "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head").
The military sense of "officer who commands a company" (the rank between major and lieutenant) is from 1560s; the naval sense of "officer who commands a man-of-war" is from 1550s, extended to "master or commander of a vessel of any kind" by 1704. Sporting sense "leader of the players on a team" is recorded by 1823. The words inb other Germanic languages are also from French.
Old English fulian "to become foul, rot, decay," from ful (see foul (adj.)). Transitive meaning "make foul, pollute" is from c. 1200. Meaning "become entangled" (chiefly nautical) is from 1832, probably from foul (adj.) in the sense "obstructed by anything fixed or attached" (late 15c.). "A term generally used in contrast to clear, and implies entangled, embarrassed or contrary to: e.g. to foul the helm, to find steerage impracticable owing to the rudder becoming entangled with rope or other gear" [Sir Geoffrey Callender, "Sea Passages," 1943]. Related: Fouled; fouling. Hence also foul anchor (1769), one with the slack of the cable twisted round the stock or a fluke; noted by 1832 as naval insignia.
mid-14c., navie, "fleet of ships," especially for purposes of war, from Old French navie "fleet; ship," from Latin navigia, plural of navigium "vessel, boat," from navis "ship," from PIE root *nau- "boat."
Meaning "a nation's collective, organized sea power" is from 1530s. The Old English words were sciphere (usually of Viking invaders) and scipfierd (usually of the home defenses). Navy blue was the color of the British naval uniform. Navy bean attested from 1856, so called because they were grown to be used by the Navy. Navy-yard "government dockyard," in the U.S. "a dockyard where government ships are built or repaired" is by 1842.
"rebellious," by 1943, British nautical slang, perhaps a slang mangling of obstreperous. "Sea Passages: A Naval Anthology and Introduction to the Study of English" [1943, Geoffrey Callender] quotes from a letter:
Why Nobby should reckon that his raggie should blow the gaff, when there are crushers everywhere, leaves me guessing; but there it is. In the last dog he rounded on me and called me a white rat. I got stroppy and told him he was shooting a line: but all he said was, 'Oh! choke your luff! I'm looking for another oppo you snivelling sand-catcher.' So that looks like paying off.
to which Callender adds, "There is nothing in this letter which an active service rating could fail to understand."
"coffee," by 1932, likely derived from Java, a noted source of fine coffee, as explained in the glossary of naval terms in Robert P. Erdman, "Reserve Officer's Manual, United States Navy" (Washington, 1932). The guess that it is from the name of U.S. coffee merchant Joseph Martinson (c. 1880-1949) is not chronologically impossible, but it wants evidence and seems to have originated in the company's advertisements (1972).
Earlier in American English (1772) it was the colloquial name of a Portuguese or Brazilian coin worth about $8, shortened from Johannes in this sense (1758), the Modern Latin form of Portuguese João (see John), name of a king of Portugal whose head and Latin inscription appeared on the coin.
c. 1300, "attendant in a noble household," of unknown origin, perhaps a contraction of Old English iunge man "young man," or from an unrecorded Old English *geaman, equivalent of Old Frisian gaman "villager," from Old English -gea "district, region, village," cognate with Old Frisian ga, ge, German Gau, Gothic gawi, from Proto-Germanic *gaujan.
Sense of "commoner who cultivates his land" is recorded from early 15c.; also the third order of fighting men (late 14c., below knights and squires, above knaves), hence yeomen's service "good, efficient service" (c. 1600). Meaning "naval petty officer in charge of supplies" is first attested 1660s. Yeowoman first recorded 1892: "Then I am yeo-woman O the clumsy word!" [Tennyson, "The Foresters"]
