Pirate Dictionary D-F

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DAALDER	Dutch coin.
DEAD RECKONING	Dead reckoning is a method of navigation that involves calculating a ship's position by noting the ship's speed, the speed and direction of the wind, ocean currents, and compass directions.
9 DENIERS	French coin.
DHOW	An Arabian sailing ship with triangular shaped sails (lateens), this ship's design is still used in modern times.
DOLDRUMS	Located between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south of the equator, the doldrums are a belt of very still air near the equator that stalled sailing ships.
DOUBLOON	One Spanish doubloon was equal to seven week's pay for the average sailor. Divvying up several coins per pirate when the booty was being divided could make a man rich. This fact along with the offering of better living conditions and food aboard ship as well as shorter working hours added up to a very tempting offer for most honest sailors who were approached by pirate recruiters.
DUCAT	Danish coin.
DUGOUT	A canoe made by hollowing out a tree trunk.

EASTERN HEMISPHERE	The Eastern Hemisphere consists of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
EQUATOR	The equator is an imaginary circle around the earth, halfway between the north and south poles.

FATHOM	A fathom is a unit of measurement used on the seas to measure depth. A fathom is equal to 6 feet or 1.8 meters (it was originally the distance between a sailor's outstretched arms).
FIGUREHEAD	A carved wooden figure at the front of a ship.
FILIBUSTER	An early 17th century term that the English used for a buccaneer in the Caribbean.
FIRST MATE	Second in command beneath the Captain and runs the ship if necessary.
FLIBUSTIER	A French word derived from the Dutch word "vrijbuiter" meaning "free looter."
FLOTSAM	Flotsam is a term for floating remnants of a shipwreck.
FREEBOOTER	Another name for a pirate or buccaneer, Dutch pirates were known as "vrijbuiters," the word "vrij" meaning free, "buit" meaning loot, and the ending "er" meaning agent. The word "vrijbuiter" eventually morphed into "freebooter" in English and "flibustier" in French.