What is a locker? The interpretation of this word often causes difficulty due to the fact that today it is obsolete. Many probably heard him when watching movies about pirates. You can learn more about what this locker is from the review here.
Marine term
In marine terminology, the meaning of the word "locker" has two options.
The first speaks of a box, a chest, installed in the interior of the ship. It is used to store personal belongings of the team, as well as a place of rest for the crew, where you can sit, lie, sleep.
The second term describes the elevation near the helm or aft, with steps. It simultaneously performs two functions - it serves both as a seat and as a place where ship equipment is stored, such as logs, lots, etc.
Examples:
- The Naval Charter of the Russian Navy of 2001 states that foremen and sailors who live in cockpits and cabins are provided with stationary bunks and lockers for storing things in accordance with the schedule for cabins and cockpits for housing.
- Since this cargo did not attract the attention of the inspector, he hastened to the captain's cabin, as he hoped to find there either a ship's magazine or a locker with valuable documents.
- Near the bed was a hefty wooden locker, which had a lid on the awnings, there were stored things kids.
- Since the sailors still did not use life-saving belts, they lay in a locker.
- In a very small room, about two by three meters, there was a narrow locker with a mattress at the top, a table in the corner with a mirror hanging above it and a modest wardrobe.
Outdated Interpretations
The dictionary indicates three outdated meanings of the "locker".
The first of these is a large chest with a rising roof and used instead of a bench.
The second obsolete value is marked “architectural” and describes the low volume of a rectangular shape or the part of the second floor that hangs over the entrance.
According to the third vocabulary interpretation, also marked “historical,” the locker means the upper platform of the covered porch or wooden external staircase that are attached to the building.
Examples:
- There was a great locker at the northern doors, and on it five pillars formed a portal, these pillars fell apart, only pedestals of large quadrangular stones remained.
- In Russian wooden architecture, the porch platform, which is attached to the house, as well as a paved elevation, a canopy above this porch, is called a locker.
- A locker with a weight is an overhanging porch or platform, which is arranged in a wooden log house at the protruding ends of the logs. Sometimes it is called a purse; it was often found in North Russian barns.
For a better understanding of what this is - a locker, you can familiarize yourself with words that are close in meaning to the lexeme under study.
Synonyms
Among them are such as:
- box;
- the ark;
- chest of drawers;
- locker;
- chest;
- cupboard;
- chest;
- hiding place;
- Tsybik;
- buffet;
- endova;
- box;
- casket;
- Cartridge;
- cancer
- tin;
- Kokor
- stamina.
What follows is a consideration of the origin of the word, which will help the assimilation of what it is - a locker.
Etymology
According to researchers, the word comes from the Turkic noun orunduk, meaning a pillow, lining, bench, sitting. Perhaps the origin of the Tatar urundyk - "seat". Some etymologists lead him to the German noun Rundung, which translates as "rounding, surroundings." Other scientists consider this opinion erroneous.
The word being studied in other languages and dialects may have other connotations of meaning. For instance:
- in old Russian oruduk means "pillow";
- in the Ukrainian locker is a “counter”, “porch”, “rack”;
- in Belarusian - “a box for sheaves in a barn”, “a long chest”;
- in Yaroslavl and Vologda dialects - “seat”, “counter with drawers”;
- in Perm, Vladimir, Novgorod - “porch”.
Davy Jones Locker
It is often called the “Davy Jones chest”, but only the locker will be correct in this case. This is an idiom reflecting the slang of English sailors, which has been around since the 18th century to our time, allegorical expression denoting the grave of sailors.
For sailors, Davy Jones is an evil spirit living in the sea, and his locker is the ocean that accepts dead sailors. The general public got acquainted with the expression “Davy Jones locker” by reading the book “The Adventures of Perigrin Pickle” written by the English writer Tobias Smollet.
In his work, he noted that according to the legends of sailors, Davy Jones is a devil who commands evil spirits of the abyss. Other authors attribute the occurrence of the expression in question to the pirate David Jones, who lived in the 17th century and robbed the waters of the Caribbean.
In literature, this character is mentioned in an ironic context in Dickens's novel "David Copperfield" in a dialogue between two sailors. And also present in the words of the pirate song "15 people on the dead man's chest." She became famous from the novel “Treasure Island” by R. L. Stevenson.
In cinema, this image merges with the legend of the Flying Dutchman in a series of films about pirates of the Caribbean.