deadlight

American  

[ded-lahyt] / ˈdɛdˌlaɪt /

noun

Nautical.

1. a strong shutter able to be screwed against the interior of a porthole in heavy weather.

2. a thick pane of glass set in the hull or deck to admit light.

---

deadlight British  

/ ˈdɛdˌlaɪt /

noun

1. nautical

   1. a bull's-eye let into the deck or hull of a vessel to admit light to a cabin

   2. a shutter of wood or metal for sealing off a porthole or cabin window

2. a skylight designed not to be opened

---

Etymology

Origin of deadlight

First recorded in 1720–30; dead + light ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deadlight

Feast on the details: white gold cowlings and guards, tiny coils to scale of halyards hung on mast cleats, even deadlight prisms of acrylic in the cockpit deck.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Fully committed," muttered Denman, as he drew back from the deadlight.

From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Robertson, Morgan

Returning to his cabin—a single-berth one on the port side—Schoeffer closed the deadlight and drew a curtain over the jalousied door.

From The Wireless Officer by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

I heard the cook close the door behind me and bolt it and cover the deadlight with a tin pan.

From The Mutineers by Hawes, Charles Boardman

Sort of a pretty look-off through that deadlight, ain't there, Cap'n Sears?

From Fair Harbor by Lincoln, Joseph Crosby