The following definitions provided by Merriam-Webster will help you to master the vocabulary used to describe the Titanic.
- bow (noun): the forward part of a ship
- breach (verb): to make a gap in by battering
- bridge (noun): the forward part of a ship’s superstructure from which the ship is navigated
- bulkhead (noun): an upright partition separating compartments
- crow’s nest (noun): a partly enclosed platform high on a ship’s mast for use as a lookout
- davit (noun): a crane that projects over the side of a ship or a hatchway and is used especially for boats, anchors, or cargo
- founder (verb): to become submerged
- gantry (noun): a frame structure raised on side supports so as to span over or around something
- keel (noun): the chief structural member of a boat or ship that extends longitudinally along the center of its bottom and that often projects from the bottom
- knot (noun): one nautical mile per hour
- maiden (adjective): first, earliest
- opulent (adjective): exhibiting or characterized by opulence: such as amply or plentifully provided or fashioned often to the point of ostentation
- port (noun): the left side of a ship or aircraft looking forward
- rupture (verb): to part by violence: break, burst
- seaworthy (adjective): fit or safe for a sea voyage
- starboard (noun): the right side of a ship or aircraft looking forward
- steerage (noun): a section of inferior accommodations in a passenger ship for passengers paying the lowest fares
- stern (noun): the rear end of a boat
- watertight (adjective): of such tight construction or fit as to be impermeable to water except when under sufficient pressure to produce structural discontinuity
