Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of midshipman.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word midshipmen.

Examples

  • "Why, they took him down to the cock-pit, as they called the midshipmen's berth on the lower deck, where we're going now," replied the Captain, leading the way down the companion and an interminable series of other ladders afterwards, as if they were descending to the kelson, the space getting all the narrower and darker as they went down.

    Bob Strong's Holidays Adrift in the Channel John B. [Illustrator] Greene

  • Among his midshipmen was the afterwards Admiral Lord Keith.

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 55, No. 342, April, 1844 Various

  • To meet this difficulty there were employed a class of men, usually young and alert, who from their station were called midshipmen, to carry messages which were not subject for the trumpet shout.

    From Sail to Steam, Recollections of Naval Life 1877

  • Among the midshipmen was a boy named Frank Cole, who was three years younger than Mr. Pellew, but had entered on board the Juno at the same time.

    The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth Osler, Edward, 1798-1863 1854

  • He had been many years a lieutenant, and his temper had been considerably soured before he had got his promotion; indeed, some of those whom he had known as midshipmen were now admirals, and he seemed to take especial pleasure in acting in a dictatorial manner towards all those under him.

    The Three Commanders William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • There were several other boys -- apprentices -- of whom two were called midshipmen, although they had to do the same duty as the rest.

    Owen Hartley; or, Ups and Downs A Tale of Land and Sea William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • During a heavy gale we encountered, when near the latitude of the Cape, one of the so-called midshipmen fell overboard and was drowned.

    The Cruise of the Dainty Rovings in the Pacific William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • There was also one cabin full of young gentlemen, called midshipmen, their ages varying from thirteen up to five or six-and-twenty; with them, however, were the captain's and purser's clerks, and master's assistants, and assistant surgeons.

    Ben Hadden or, Do Right Whatever Comes Of It William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • A joke must have an end; and the captain, seeing that the best way of bringing this to a conclusion (it being somewhat subversive of discipline) was to call the midshipmen down, they were allowed to return once more on deck, while Quirk's new red coat and accoutrements were seized and hove overboard, to appease the rage of the marine officer.

    The Three Midshipmen William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • In a few minutes the black brought down a bowl of soup and whole peas swimming in it, put before our hero a tin bread-basket full of small biscuit, called midshipmen's nuts, and the pepper-castor.

    Mr. Midshipman Easy Frederick Marryat 1820

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.