Have you ever noticed a ship is always referred to as a woman?
English nouns, unlike other European languages, traditionally do not carry a gender, so why is it then ships are always referred to as ‘she’?
I’m not going to lie; this has always puzzled me and when I began working for Lloyd’s Register Foundation I thought there was no better time than the present to find out why.
Unfortunately, to my disappointment it doesn’t have such a romantic story as I had hoped for when I began to search for answers…
I have found there to be a number of different theories for a ships’ association with the female gender. I have my favourite, but you can decide which theory you prefer…
1. Let’s start with arguably the least interesting out of the three. The Latin word for ‘ship’ is navis, which is a feminine noun.
2. Secondly, the use of the personal pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’ are usually reserved for humans or animals, but it is not uncommon to see inanimate objects such as tables and chairs also adopting feminine and masculine identities. Sailors traditionally established personal attachments to their ships which would result in using personal pronouns and hence calling their vessels ‘she’.
3. The third and possibly most intriguing, is the idea of a female figure such as a mother or goddess guiding and protecting the ship and its crew.
Where does the idea of ‘the mother’ of the ship come from?
Well it actually has origins in ancient nautical ceremonies.
The customary blessing of a ship with an official ceremony was held to implore the gods to safeguard a new ship and its crew from the evil ‘perils’ of the oceans!
The ancient rituals marked the launch of a new ship with a sacrifice- even the bible remarks two oxen as sacrifices for Noah’s Ark, which then protected the ship on the seas without bringing harm to the crew and cargo.
The Vikings replaced this sacrificial tradition with food, ale and mead! If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t expect any less from the Vikings.
Over time it became the duty of the Royal Family and was carried out by throwing wine from a silver cup to the four points of the compass. [1]
The silver cup was later replaced by a bottle of wine and today, a celebratory bottle of champagne is used.
Over the years, the task of ship naming was delegated to the most predominant ladies of the day- the lady who names the ship is also known as the ‘Godmother’.
And that is how we now have a ‘godmother’ of a ship.
It is up to you, which theory you choose to believe…
Does this have any connection to the female figure heads positioned at the head of the ship?
The short answer is yes.
Sailors are traditionally very superstitious men. A woman’s presence on ships was supposed to bring misfortune yet figureheads (wooden carvings of women) instead brought the vessel luck. These carvings were said to calm the seas and therefore prevent any danger coming to their vessels, protecting the ship and its crew. This superstition went as far as thinking a damaged figurehead was a sign of bad things to come!
So now you know why ships are always thought of as female!
Don’t forget to take a look at Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage & Education Centre website and follow us on social media to keep up with our other digital content.
[1] Jones, Barbara, Project Undaunted, (London: Lloyd’s Register Foundation, 2017)
