cabin boy

American  

noun

1. a boy employed as a servant for the officers and passengers on a ship.

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cabin boy British  

noun

1. a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship

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Etymology

Origin of cabin boy

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

He didn’t know diddly about ships or sailing, so he had to tell a big fib to get a job as a cabin boy.

From Literature

She awoke to find her cabin boy’s trousers and warm knit sweater on the foot of her bed, neatly folded and smelling of fresh soap and wood smoke.

From Literature

Pudge had been a cabin boy in his youth and, coincidentally, had served on a ship captained by the famed Admiral Percival Racine Ashton himself.

From Literature

“That’s funny. Uncle Pudge is always talking about cannibals. Claims he met some once, when he was only a cabin boy. Something to do with a shipwreck.”

From Literature

The 1884 death of a cabin boy in a lifeboat was no accident.

From The Wall Street Journal