CONVOY. A fleet of merchant ships similarly bound, protected by an armed force. Also, the ship or ships appointed to conduct and defend them on their passage. Also, a guard of troops to escort a supply of stores to a detached force. CONVOY-INSTRUCTIONS. The printed regulations supplied by the senior officer to each ship of the convoy. CONVOY-LIST. A return of the merchantmen placed under the protection of men-of-war, for safe conduct to their destination. COOK. A man of each mess who is caterer for the day, and answerable too, wherefore he is allowed the surplus grog, termed _plush_ (which see). The cook, _par excellence_, in the navy, was a man of importance, responsible for the proper cooking of the food, yet not overboiling the meat to extract the fat--his perquisite. The coppers were closely inspected daily by the captain, and if they soiled a cambric handkerchief the cook's allowance was stopped. Now, the ship's cook is a first-class petty officer, and cannot be punished as heretofore. In a merchantman the cook is, _ex officio_, the hero of the fore-sheet, as the steward is of the main one. COOKING A DAY'S WORK. To save the officer in charge. Reckoning too is cooked, as in a certain Antarctic discovery of land, which James Ross afterwards sailed over. COOK-ROOM, OR COOK-HOUSE. The galley or caboose containing the cooking apparatus, and where victuals are dressed. COOLIE, COULEY, KOULI, OR CHULIAH. A person who carries a load; a porter or day-labourer in India and China. COOMB. The Anglo-Saxon _comb_; a low place inclosed with hills; a valley. (_See_ CWM.) COOMINGS, OR COMBINGS. The rim of the hatchways. (_See_ COAMINGS.) COOM OF A WAVE. The comb or crest. The white summit when it breaks. COON-TRAIE. A Manx and Erse term for the neap-tide. COOP, OR FISH-COOP. A hollow vessel made with twigs, with which fish are taken in the Humber. (_See_ HEN-COOP.) COOPER. A rating for a first-class petty officer, who repairs casks, &c. COOT. A water-fowl common on lakes and rivers (_Fulica atra_). The toes are long and not webbed, but bordered by a scalloped membrane. The name is sometimes used for the guillemot (_Uria troile_), and often applied to a stupid person. COOTH. _See_ CUTH. COP, OR COPT. The top of a conical hill. COPE. An old English word for cape. COPECK. _See_ KOPEK. COPERNICAN SYSTEM. The Pythagorean system of the universe, revived by Copernicus in the sixteenth century, and now confirmed; in which the sun occupies the central space, and the planets with their attendant satellites revolve about him. COPILL. An old term for a variety of the coble. COPING. In ship-building, turning the ends of iron lodging-knees, so that they may hook into the beams. COPPER, TO. To cover the ship's bottom with prepared copper. COPPER-BOLTS. _See_ COPPER-FASTENED.