Definition

Noun

  • A large wine cask approximately 60 cubic feet in volume or 252 gallons.

Origin

13th century. From the Anglo-Saxon word tunne, meaning barrel.

Comments

This would eventually become the word ton and defines the standard cargo capacity of merchant vessels. The number of tuns a vessel could stow in her holds was the figure of her tunnage (tonnage).

References

Kemp, P. (1994). The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press.

King, D., Hattendorf, J.B, & Estes, J.W. (1997). A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O’Brian’s Seafaring Tales (2nd Ed.). Owl Books.

Rogers, J.G. (1985). Origins of Sea Terms. Mystic Seaport.