conn

Formsconns, conning, conned

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The duty of directing a ship, usually spoken of as having the conn or taking the conn.

   "I have the conn," the lieutenant announced as she stepped onto the bridge.

   When the storm worsened, the captain relieved the young officer and took the conn himself.

   Note

   Bridge talk keeps the definite article: an officer has the conn or takes the conn, and saying so aloud is how charge of the steering changes hands. Noun and verb share one history, through cond and Anglo-Norman conduire back to Latin condūcō, "to lead, bring together", the verb behind conduce as well. The conn is about leading the ship, not about holding the wheel.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To direct the steering of a vessel by watching its course and giving the helmsman orders, especially through a channel rather than along a compass heading.

   A local pilot came aboard to conn the tanker up the narrow river channel.

   From the bridge wing, the first mate conned the vessel between the buoys, calling out each turn to the helmsman.

   Similarpilot, navigate, steer

   Note

   The difference between steering and conning is old and exact. In Daniel Defoe's Roxana (1724) one speaker is allowed to hold the helm, "but you'll conn the ship", just as at sea a boy stands at the helm while the one who gives him orders is the pilot. The helmsman's hands move the ship; the conning officer's eyes and voice decide where it goes.

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