avast

English

WOTD – 19 September 2024

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Dutch hou vast, houd vast (“hold tight”),^[1] from houd (imperative of houden (“to hold”)) + vast (“fast, firm”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈvɑːst/, /-ˈvæst/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈvæst/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːst, -æst

Interjection

avast (nautical)

2. Hold fast!; cease!; stop!

   Synonyms: desist, stay; see also Thesaurus:avast

   • 1681, Thomas Otway, The Souldiers Fortune: A Comedy. […], London: […] R. Bentley and M. Magnes, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 51:

     Then pull avvay, hoa up, hoa up, hoa up, ſo avaſt there, Sir.

   • 1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I am Seized with a Deep Melancholy, and Become a Sloven […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume II, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 305:

     Avaſt, brother, avaſt! ſheer off—Yo ho! you turnkey, vvhy don't you keep a better look out? here's one of your crazy priſoners broke from his laſhings, I do ſuppoſe.

   • 1836, [Frederick Marryat], “In which our hero sets off on another cruise, in which he is not blown off shore”, in Mr. Midshipman Easy […], volume II, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 87:

     [T]he sail went into the water, and he could not drag it in. "Avast heaving," said Gascoigne, "till I throw her up and take the wind out of it."

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Ramadan”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 93:

     [S]he caught me as I was again trying to force the open the door. "I won't allow it; I won't have my premises spoiled. Go for the locksmith, there's one about a mile from here. But avast!" putting her hand in her side-pocket, "here's a key that'll fit, I guess; let's see." And with that, she turned it in the lock; but, alas! Queequeg's supplemental bolt remained unwithdrawn within.

   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “In the Enemy’s Camp”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part VI (Captain Silver), page 233:

     "Avast, there!" cried Silver. "Who are you, Tom Morgan? Maybe you thought you was cap'n here, perhaps. By the powers, but I'll teach you better! […]"

   • 1914 October – 1916 July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Shanghaied”, in The Mucker, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published 31 October 1921, →OCLC, part I, page 15:

     "Avast there!" cried the captain, and as though to punctuate his remark he swung the heavy stick he usually carried full upon the back of Billy's head.

   • 2008, Nadia Higgins, Avast, Ye Dog Thief! (Barnacle Barb & Her Pirate Crew)‎, Edina, Minn.: Magic Wagon, ABDO Publishing Group, →ISBN:

     "That landlubber's stole me dog!" Armpit cried. "Avast, ye dog thief!" he roared to the man.

4. (slang) In imitation of pirates: listen!; pay attention!

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:heads up

   Avast, ye landlubbers!

   • 2005 September, John Baur, Mark Summers, Piratitude! So You Wanna be a Pirate? Here’s How!, New York, N.Y.: New American Library, →ISBN, pages 35 and 166:

     [“Pirate Talk: How to Make It Work for You”, page 35] Avast—"Stop and give attention." It can be used in a sense of surprise: "Whoa! Get a load of that!" when a beautiful woman walks into the room. "Avast! Check out the bowsprit on that fine beauty!" you might say. […] [“Cap’n Slappy’s Practical Parrot Pointers”, page 166] Arrrr! Avast, Cap'n Slappy. Does ye know where the treasure of the Sierra Madre be buried? If ye don't tell me its whereabouts, I'll have to swing ye from the yardarm, matey.

Usage notes

• Regarding sense 1, “avast hauling!” (meaning, “stop hauling!”) was in 1950 (and may still be) commonly used as a command in U.S. Navy deck operations.
• Sense 2 (“listen!”) is based on a misconstrual of the meaning. If uttered by a historical sailor, the meaning of the sentence “Avast, ye Matey” would have been, “Desist, you novice seaman”.

Translations

hold fast!; cease!; stop! — see cease,‎ stop

listen!; pay attention! — see listen,‎ pay attention

References

1. “avast, phrase”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “avast, excl.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• avast (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Vasta, tavas

Estonian

Noun

avast

1. elative singular of ava

Tocharian B

Alternative forms

• avasth

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit अवस्था (avasthā).

Noun

avast ?

1. condition, state

Derived terms

• avasthaṣṣe

Further reading

• Adams, Douglas Q. (2013) “avast(h)”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 32