"He is my wardrobe-man, my _acater_, Cook, butler, and steward." ACATES. Victuals; provisions purchased; delicious food; dainties. ACATIUM. A word used in Roman naval affairs for a small boat, and also the main-mast of a ship. ACCELERATION. The increase of velocity in a moving body by the force of gravity. A planet is said to be accelerated when its actual diurnal motion exceeds its mean. In fixed stars the acceleration is the mean time by which they anticipate the sun's diurnal revolution, which is 3′ 56″ nearly.--_Acceleration of the moon_ is the increase of her mean motion, caused by a slow change in the excentricity of the terrestrial orbit, and which has sensibly diminished the length of the moon's revolution since the time of the earliest observations. ACCESS. Means of entry on board. ACCESSIBLE. A place which can be approached by land or sea. ACCLIVITY. The upward slope of an inclined cliff. ACCOIL, TO. To coil together, by folding round. (_See_ COIL.) ACCOLADE [_ad_ and _collum_, Lat.] The ceremony of dubbing a knight, and the consequent embrace formerly customary on the occasion. ACCOMMODATIONS. Cabins fitted for passengers.--_Accommodation ladder_, a convenient flight of steps fixed at the gangway, by which officers and visitors enter the ship.--_Accommodation_, the physical application of one thing to another by analogy. ACCOMPANY, TO. To sail together; to sail in convoy. ACCOST, TO. To pass within hail of a ship; to sail coastwise; to approach, to draw near, or come side by side. ACCOUNT, GOING UPON. A phrase for buccaneering. ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL OF THE NAVY. Superintendent of pay and general accounts of the navy. ACCOUNTS. The several books and registers of stores, provisions, slops, and contingents of a ship or fleet; and they are strictly enjoined to be correct, real, and precise, both in receipt and expenditure.--_Account sales_, a form of book-keeping in commerce. ACCOUTREMENT. An old term for an habiliment, or part of the trappings and furniture of a soldier or knight; now generally used for the belts, pouches, and equipments of soldiers or marines. ACCUL. A word used by old voyagers for the end of a deep bay; it is corrupted from _cul de sac_. ACHATOUR. The old word for caterer of a mess. ACHERNAR. A star of the first magnitude in the constellation Eridanus, called by navigators the "Spring of the River." It is invisible in our latitude. (α Eridani.) Properly should be _acher nahr_. ACHIEVEMENT. A signal exploit; escutcheon; armorial bearings granted for achievement. ACHROMATIC. An optical term applied to those telescopes in which aberration of the rays of light, and the colours dependent thereon, are partially corrected. (_See_ APLANATIC.) ACHRONICAL. An ancient term, signifying the rising of the heavenly bodies at sunset, or setting at sunrise.