nautical

[naw-ti-kuhl, not-i-]

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adjective

of or relating to sailors, ships, or navigation: nautical terms.

Nearby words

Origin of nautical

1545–55; < Latin nautic(us) pertaining to ships or sailors (< Greek nautikós, equivalent to naû(s) ship + -tikos -tic) + -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR nautical

seagoing, marine, maritime.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nautical ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

nau·ti·cal·i·ty

[naw-ti-kal-i-tee, not-i-] /ˌnɔ tɪˈkæl ɪ ti, ˌnɒt ɪ-/, nounnau·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·nau·ti·cal, adjectivenon·nau·ti·cal·ly, adverb

un·nau·ti·cal, adjective

Can be confusednaval nautical

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

Examples from the Web for nautical

Leave it to one of America's oldest artist colonies to put a uniquely creative spin on this nautical holiday tradition.
New England’s Crazy Christmas Tree Tradition|Condé Nast Traveler|December 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dana Kennedy on the nautical newcomers and diminishing glamour of St. Tropez and Monte Carlo.
Look Who's Yachting!|Dana Kennedy|August 16, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Our nautical experts (who had been at sea for three weeks anyhow) opined that it was "steering" for the Diamond Fields.
The Siege of Kimberley|T. Phelan
Poor Giuseppe, in spite of his nautical costume, was man of all work.
Jerry|Jean Webster

A nautical term for the holes cut in the flooring in a ship above the keelson, to allow water to drain to the pumps.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 6|Various
But once on this very voyage, during a storm, I had occasion to be convinced that nautical optics will assert their advantage.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864|Various
Only, upon peculiar occasions arose a necessity for a nautical power as amongst the resources of empire.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols)|Thomas De Quincey

British Dictionary definitions for nautical

nautical

adjective

of, relating to, or involving ships, navigation, or sailors

Derived Formsnautically, adverb

Word Origin for nautical

C16: from Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from naus ship

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

Word Origin and History for nautical

nautical

adj.

1550s, from -al (1) + nautic from Middle French nautique, from Latin nauticus "pertaining to ships or sailors," from Greek nautikos "seafaring, naval," from nautes "sailor," from naus "ship," from PIE *nau- "boat" (see naval).