Nautical Terms

The legal system and the language we use today still exhibit the origins of maritime law, or “law of the sea”, with many words referencing nautical terms, which few people notice.

One of the more common suffixes added to words is the word “ship”, which references the action of boarding a ship or “vessel”, which has a controlling body, with a set of rules.

Although innocent enough, it can be a dangerous trap to fall into if you do not recognise its true meaning.

So before you decide to “come on board” an “anything –ship”, it would be prudent to know who runs it and what the rules are, as you are about to travel the “waters of commerce”.

Taken from the Old English word “lithan”, which means “to go” or “to guide”, the word leadership refers to the action of going somewhere together with others, with the first use of this word being in the late 1700’s.

However, the Greek root word for leader is “agogue”, and when added to the prefix “dem”, from the Greek word “demos”, meaning “people”, dem-agogue means “people-leader” or “leader of the people”.

To board the “ship of being lead”, means to trust the captain of the vessel and therefore, before following any leader, be sure they are treading the right path, or steering a true ship.

The word rulership, which was first recorded around the year 1640, refers to the act or fact of ruling, or the state of being ruled.

The root word rule is from Middle English “reule”, which is also spelt “rewle”, and is borrowed from the Old French word “riule”, which was from the Latin word “regula”, meaning “straight stick”, “bar”, or “lord”.

Once the unsuspecting person has accepted a ruler, they have boarded the “ship of rule” and, with the loss of their sovereignty, must obey the regulations from their master.

The word worship is based upon the word “worth”, which has its origins founded on the Old English word “weorþ”, which means “significant”, “valuable”, “appreciated” and “deserving”.

To worship someone or something, such as a god or deity, is to come on board the “wor-ship” vessel and allow yourself to be governed as one of the legion, within the “re-legion”.

Note: when choosing to worship a deity, it may be prudent to ask who owns it.