| 释义 |
hoveller|ˈhɒv(ə)lə(r), ˈhʌv(ə)lə(r)|
Also -eler.
[Of obscure origin; it has been suggested that they were so called ‘from their use of hovels on shore for shelter’; but cf. hobbler2, huffler.]
1. An unlicensed pilot or boatman, especially on the Kentish coast; frequently applied to a boatman who goes out to wrecks, sometimes with a view of plunder. Cf. hobbler2 3 a.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Vagans, vagrants or hovellers, who infest the sea-coast in a tempest, in expectation of plunder from some ship-wrecked vessel. 1809Naval Chron. XXIV. 105 Pilots, boatmen, hovellers. 1864R. M. Ballantyne Lifeboat (ed. 2) 87 In olden time the owners of these nautical huts dwelt in them, hence the name ‘hoveller’ which is used at the present day. 1866Daily Tel. 3 Nov., The vessel must go to pieces; and the hoveller's instinct is to clutch as much as he can from it. 1884Daily News 23 Sept. 3/1 The Deal boatman..is often called a ‘hoveller’, and his most profitable work seems to be in knocking about at sea ready to afford aid to ships needing it. 1886N. & Q. 7th Ser. II. 476/1.
2. The craft used by these boatmen.
1880Clark Russell Sailor's Sweetheart I. iii. 97 There'll be a whole fleet of hovelers around 'em before another hour's gone. 1881Daily Tel. 24 Feb., I made the journey in a hoveller, and reached the lightship half an hour before sunset. |