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

“I look like a runaway cabin boy,” she thought.

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