ship of the line

ship of the line

Definition of SHIP OF THE LINE

: a large warship; specifically : a square-rigged warship having at least two gun decks and designed to be positioned for battle in a line with other such ships

First Known Use of SHIP OF THE LINE

1706

Rhymes with SHIP OF THE LINE

accipitrine, adamantine, adulterine, alexandrine, amaranthine, assembly line, attention line, Australian pine, Austrian pine, count palatine, die on the vine, elephantine, fall into line, fortified wine, graphic design, heterodyne, labyrinthine, lateral line, loblolly pine, Monterey pine, poverty line, production line, receiving line, Schleswig-Holstein, sweetheart neckline, top-of-the-line

ship of the line

   (Concise Encyclopedia)

Type of sailing warship, the principal vessel of the West's great navies from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century. It evolved from a tactic in naval warfare known as the line of battle, in which two opposing columns of ships maneuvered to fire their guns broadside against each other. Since the largest ships carrying the biggest guns usually won these battles, this led to the construction of more big line-of-battle ships, or ships of the line. These three-masted ships were often 200 ft (60 m) long, displaced 1,200–2,000 tons (1,100–1,800 metric tons), and had crews of 600–800 men; they usually had 60–110 cannons and other guns arranged along three decks. They eventually gave way to the steam-powered battleship.