weather ship

English

Noun

weather ship (plural weather ships)

1. A ship, usually permanently on station, tasked with reporting meteorological data.

   Synonym: ocean station vessel

2. (Age of Sail) A ship to the windward of another; considered an advantage in naval warfare.
   • 1832, Francis Lieber, editor, A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, History, Politics and Biography, volume 9, Philadelphia: Carey and Lea, page 178:

     If the weather ship be of inferior force, it enables her to keep out of action much longer, and, though a poorer sailer, she may do so until the intervention of night increases the chances of escape.