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18th century warship cross section, the orlop deck highlighted in red
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The orlop of the Swedish 17th century warship Vasa looking toward the bow.
The orlop is the lowest deck in a ship (except for very old ships). It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line.[1]
It has been suggested the name originates from "overlooping" of the cables, or alternatively, that the name is a corruption of "overlap", referring to an overlapping, balcony-like half deck occupying a portion of the ship's lowest deck space. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word descends from Dutch overloop from the verb overlopen, "to run (over); extend".[2]
References
- ^ Keegan, John (1989). The Price of Admiralty. New York: Viking. p. 279. ISBN 0-670-81416-4.
- ^ "Orlop" from Shorter Oxford English Dictionary