Another vocabulary question

[SarasMommy]

A few weeks ago I asked my friends on CC's Holland America board a vocabulary question, and you all proved your seaworthiness with your informative responses.

 

So here is another one that I am curious about. Why are ships' passengers referred to as "souls", as in "1200 souls on board"? Why not simply "persons"? Does anyone know?

[asailingnowwego]

Don't know if this is accurate, but its what I got when I Googled it...

 

It's to avoid potential confusion between how many crew and how many passengers are aboard. By saying "souls" it covers everybody, so there's no mistake. I suppose they could say "occupants", "humans" or "people", but to my ear, "souls" sounds better. It is standard every day usage and is not just used when something bad has happened.

[SDHALFAN]

That is an excellent question SarasMommy and I wish that I could give you a definitive answer. However, your question led me to the dictionary (Funk and Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary). Needless to say there are several entries under "soul" but definition 8 states: "A living person; a human being".

 

Incidently in airline lingo passengers and crew are also referred to as "souls".

 

Maybe someone brilliant posting on this board can come up with an answer that will satisfy both of us.:D

 

Valerie:)

[jtl513]

I don't know the answer, but I know this usage of the word goes back centuries in nautical history. Maybe it derives from the term "all souls" used by many Christian denominations to mean "everyone". :confused:

[Two if by Sea]

It was quite standard in Christian literature several hundred years ago. You can find hundreds of references to the "brave souls" who sailed the Mayflower to reach the New World.

 

Since sailing was the primary means of long-distance transportation at the time, it stuck with ships into the present day. It is not used quite as much in other modes of transportation except to refer to folks who have passed on, perhaps as the result of a crash.

 

But see http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/45/messages/274.html for an interesting reply.

[jhannah]

So, are Marines Leather Souls? ;)

[Harry1954]

souls are humans as opposed to dogs, cats and other pets onboard .. which unfortunately would leave out Mickey, Donald, and friends.

harry

[Lynne Myrna]

In literature it meant people on a ship.....& that's all it meant:)

[Pilot70D]

So, are Marines Leather Souls? ;)

 

We only wear leather around our necks therefore Marines are not leather souls. We could be referred to as Jarhead souls or Devildog souls but not leather souls.

 

Semper Fidelis

[spinwing]

It has been adapted from the morse code "S.O.S." S.O.S. had no meaning when it was devised as the international distres message at sea; it is just a very distinctive group which is easy to send and to hear - three dots, three dashes and three dots. Common usage evolved to mean "Save Our Souls". Today it is used to indicate to rescuers how many people, crew and passengers, are we should expect to find. Modern technology has made the voice / radio equivalent of "MAYDAY" much more common. In fact even that has been superceded by satellite / GPS technology which will broadcast the vessels GPS position to a Search and Rescue satellite as long as the radio has electrical power. :cool:

[Susie51]

Welcome to CC, I see this was your first post.

[allen.crawford]

I have to apologize for branching out on this topic a bit, but this thread sparked some synapses that somehow fit into this topic. Perhaps I should have started a new thread, but I know the HAL CCers out there are very forgiving.

 

What sparked in my brain was, if we board a plane and then at our destination de-plane (not my phrase, but the phrase used by flight attendants everywhere!), does that mean we "de-ship" at the end of a cruise?? :)

[TedC]

What about people without souls - don't they count?

[birdie16]

As a flight attendant, in training we were told it was to clear up an confusion of how many were on board, so you don't wonder is that number passengers, or passengers AND crew? With total souls on board that includes both, regardless of status.

 

On that note, we are also NEVER to refer to the count when telling the captain or gate agent the count as "SOB's", some people might not like being called an "SOB" if they don't understand our meaning of the term.

[jhannah]

Good question. You DO board a ship. But the usual phrase is embark. Therefore, you disembark -- or debark, which sounds wierd to me -- when you get off.

[jhannah]

What about people without souls - don't they count?

They certainly do! They're the ones hogging deck chairs, shoving their way ahead of you at the Lido, crashing the Neptune Lounge when they're not entitled, etc. :D