sea boy

English

Alternative forms

seaboy, sea-boy

Noun

sea boy (plural sea boys)

1. (archaic) A boy employed on a ship; a child seaman.
   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], lines 26-30:

     Canst thou, O partial sleep, give then repose
     To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,
     And in the calmest and most stillest night,
     With all appliances and means to boot,
     Deny it to a king?

References

• “sea boy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Boyeas