DYKE-CAM. A ditch-bank.
DYNAMOMETER. An instrument for measuring the amount of force, and used for indicating the thrust or force of a screw-propeller, or any other motor. There are many, varying in mode according to the express purpose of each, but all founded on the same principle as the name expresses—power and measure, so that a steel-yard is the simplest exponent.
E.
E. The second class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative excellence of merchant ships. (See [A].)
EAGER. See [Eagre].
EAGLE. The insignia of the Romans, borrowed also by moderns, as Frederic of Prussia and Napoleon. Also, a gold coin of the United States, of the value of five dollars, or £1, 0s. 10d. sterling, at the average rate of exchange.
EAGLE, or Spread-eagle. A punishment inflicted by seizing the offender by his arms and legs to the shrouds, and there leaving him for a specified time.
EAGRE, or Hygre. The reciprocation of the freshes of various rivers, as for instance the Severn, with the flowing tide, sometimes presenting a formidable surge. The name seems to be from the Anglo-Saxon eágor, water, or Ægir, the Scandinavian god of the sea. (See [Bore] and [Hygre].)
EAR. A west-country term for a place where hatches prevent the influx of the tide.