matelot

[ mat-loh, mat-l-oh ]

/ ˈmæt loʊ, ˈmæt lˌoʊ /

a sailor.

Origin of matelot

1910–15; < French ≪ Middle Dutch mattenoot sailor, equivalent to matte mat¹ + noot companion (Dutch genoot)

I prove to you I am not; but a good, sound, safe, French matelot!

Seven Frozen Sailors |George Manville Fenn
He had been a matelot, he said,—made a long voyage, and once touched at an English port.

Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia |Thomas Forester
We do not know whether, in peculiar cases, a matelot became his camarade's heir.

The Monarchs of the Main, Volume I (of 3) |Walter Thornbury
The Buccaneers went in pairs, every hunter having his camerade or matelot (sailor), as well as his engags.

The Monarchs of the Main, Volume I (of 3) |Walter Thornbury

No excuse was allowed; and if illness prevented the man elected taking the office, his matelot, or companion, took his place.

The Monarchs of the Main, Volume I (of 3) |Walter Thornbury

matelot

/ (ˈmætləʊ) /

slang, mainly British a sailor

C20: from French