Why are boats referred to as 'she' or 'her'?
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Why are boats referred to as 'she' or 'her'?
Serious question...why does every boat owner/person refer to their boats as 'she' or 'her'? Why not 'it', or 'the boat'?
Can anybody explain where/how that originated?
I emailed a guy about a boat.....In his reply, every sentence started with 'She'. "she' has been taken care of. "she" is beautiful. I hate to sell 'her'. "she" has had new gimbal rings. "she' runs great.....etc...
I'm thinking, dude, get off your boats' nuts....errr, I mean 'her' nuts. lol.
Can anybody explain where/how that originated?
I emailed a guy about a boat.....In his reply, every sentence started with 'She'. "she' has been taken care of. "she" is beautiful. I hate to sell 'her'. "she" has had new gimbal rings. "she' runs great.....etc...
I'm thinking, dude, get off your boats' nuts....errr, I mean 'her' nuts. lol.
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According to Yarns of the Sea, Legends, Myths, and Superstitions: Although women were considered to bring bad luck at sea, mariners always use the pronoun "she" when referring to their ships. Whether its proper name is masculine, or whether it is a man o'war, a battleship, or a nuclear submarine, a ship is always referred to as "she."
This old tradition is thought to stem from the fact that in the Romance languages, the word for "ship" is always in the feminine. For this reason, Mediterranean sailors always referred to their ship as "she", and the practice was adopted over the centuries by their English-speaking counterparts.
One source suggests that a ship "was nearer and dearer to the sailor than anyone except his mother." What better reason to call his ship "she"?
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Give it time, in this crazy world we live in today, someone is going to cry that it is sexist and legislation will be passed in regards to it...
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Yeah really or is they never talk back and you change there color pad them up abuse them what ever...But never no smart arse remarks come your way.....Opps and divorce comes with no support....
Last edited by Pliant; 06-12-2015 at 08:23 PM.