deadlight

[ded-lahyt]

noun Nautical.

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

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

Nearby words

Origin of deadlight

First recorded in 1720–30; dead + light¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deadlight

As the deadlight had been closed over the port, the state-room was illumined only by a gray half-gloom from the cabin.
The Harbor Master|Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Under this head may also be mentioned the Funa'l or Deadlight, which was lighted in some churchyards at night.
Notes & Queries, No. 27. Saturday, May 4, 1850|Various
He drew back to avoid a brick that threatened to enter the deadlight, and the conversation ended.
The Grain Ship|Morgan Robertson
Remembering his embarrassment of the morning, Denman did not seek the deck, but looked through his deadlight.
The Wreck of the Titan|Morgan Robertson

It was hot in the room, and rather dark, as the deadlight to the poop-deck was fogged by sea water.
Isle o' Dreams|Frederick F. Moore

British Dictionary definitions for deadlight

deadlight

noun

nautical

a bull's-eye let into the deck or hull of a vessel to admit light to a cabin
a shutter of wood or metal for sealing off a porthole or cabin window

a skylight designed not to be opened

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012