Naut. Forms: 5–7 vere (6 Sc. vire); 6 vyere, 7 vier-; 6–7 veare, 7 vear; 7 veere, 7– veer. [a. MDu. vieren to let out, slacken, = OHG. fieren, fiaran to give direction to. Hence also G. vieren, fieren, Da. fire, Sw. fira in nautical use.]
1. trans. To allow (a sheet or other sail-line) to run out to some extent; to let out by releasing. Also with out, ? Obs.
So Du. and Flem. (de) schoot vieren, freq. used fig.
c. 1460. Pilgrim’s Sea-Voy., 25. Hale the bowelyne! now, vere the shete!
1522. Lett. & Papers Hen. VIII., III. II. 975. [The galley was next them, but if she] may vyere the shit, she will go from us all.
1530. Hickscorner, 302. A-le the helme! a-le! vere! shot of! vere sayle!
1549. Compl. Scot., vi. 41. Vire the trossis, nou heise. Ibid. Vire ȝour liftaris and ȝour top sail trossis.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., I. xii. 1. Behold I see the hauen nigh at hand,… Vere the maine shete, and beare vp with the land.
1626. Capt. Smith, Accid. Yng. Seamen, 28. Loure the maine top saile, veare a fadome of your sheat. Ibid. (1627), Seaman’s Gram., ix. 39. Veere more sheat, or a flowne sheat, that is, when they are not haled home to the blocke.
1669. Sturmy, Mariner’s Mag., I. ii. 17. Vere out some of your Fore and Main-sheets. Ibid., 18. Vere out the main Sheet, and fore Sheet.
1694. [see MAIN-SHEET 1].
absol. 1530. [see above].
a. 1658. Cleveland, Inund. of Trent, 74. Now Bedfellows do one another greet I’ th’ Saylors Phrase, Vere, vere, more Sheet.
b. To let out (any line or rope); to allow to run out gradually to a desired length.
1574. W. Bourne, Regiment for Sea, xiv. (1577), 42. They haue a pece of wood, and a line to vere out ouer borde.
1628–9. Digby, Voy. Medit. (Camden), 75. I bore vp to her, and by a barrell viered her out a long hawser.
1690. Leybourn, Curs. Math., 608. As you veer out the Log-Line, set the Drift of the Log with your Compass.
1721. Phil. Trans., XXXI. 178. [He] marches on the bottom of the Sea, vearing out the Coiles of his Pipe.
1793. Smeaton, Edystone L., § 68. They rowed it towards the rock, veering out a rope, which they had fastened to the large boat.
1839. Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl., II. 178/2. They had the appearance of a single rope capable of being coiled and veered out conveniently.
1893. W. R. Mackintosh, Around Orkney Peat-Fires (1905), II. 135. [He] veered out the boat’s tether till he came alongside of the vessel.
† c. Similarly without adv. Obs. rare.
1624. Capt. Smith, Virginia, VI. 219. As fast as you can hale and vere a line.
1787. Best, Angling (ed. 2), 269. Veer your line, let it off the reel after striking.
2. To allow (a boat, buoy, etc.) to drift further off by letting out a line attached to it. Usually with away or out.
1539. in R. G. Marsden, Sel. Rec. Crt. Adm. (Selden), I. 67. The marinars of the sayd Venys shippe did vere owt there grete bote.
1824. Mechanic’s Mag., No. 41. 215. They tried the means of veering away a buoy.
1831. Trelawny, Adv. Younger Son, lxxiv. We veered an empty cask astern, with a rope attached to it.
1834. Marryat, P. Simple (1863), 207. They veered out a buoy with a line, which we got hold of.
1846. A. Young, Naut. Dict., 357. To veer a buoy in a ship’s wake, means to slack out a rope to which the buoy has been attached, in order to let it go astern.
3. To let out or pay out (a cable).
1604. Adm. Ct. Exam., 21 May. The cables were not viered.
1622. R. Hawkins, Voy. S. Sea (1847), 203. On both sides was crying out to veere cable. Ibid. Those [cables were] very short, and vered to the better end.
1627. Capt. Smith, Seaman’s Gram., vii. 30. Veere more Cable, is when you ride at Anchor.
1745. P. Thomas, Jrnl. Anson’s Voy., 156. Tho’ they immediately let go the Sheet-Anchor, and veer’d almost two Cables on it, yet they drove out to Sea.
1789. Trans. Soc. Arts, VII. 211. Cables veered astern, with tackles leading from them to the ship’s quarters.
1854. G. B. Richardson, Univ. Code, v. (ed. 12), 1280. I cannot veer more cable.
1870. Meade, New Zealand, 290. After veering cable we went to quarters.
1899. F. T. Bullen, Way Navy, 41. Every anchor fell and cable was veered to five shackles.
fig. 1616. B. Jonson, Devil an Ass, V. v. 46. Traines shall seeke out Ingine,… euery cable Is to be veer’d.
absol. 1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1780), A a a 4 b. Ne file plus amarre! keep fast the cable! stopper the cable! veer no more!
1775. Phil. Trans., LXVIII. 404. At 4 A.M. found ship drove, veered to a whole cable.
b. With away or out.
(a) 1697. Dampier, Voy., I. 437. This obliged us to let go our Sheet Anchor, veering out a good scope of Cable.
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1780), A a a 4 b. Filer le cable bout par bout,… to veer out the cable end-for-end.
1899. F. T. Bullen, Log Sea-waif, 74. The warships, which, with top-masts housed and cables veered out to the clinch, were all steaming full speed ahead.
(b) 1748. Anson’s Voy., II. iii. 138. To veer away the cable briskly. Ibid., III. ii. 319. After we had veered away one whole cable.
1765. Commodore Byron, Voy. (1773), I. 79. A thick fog coming on with hard rain, we veered away the stream cable.
1846. A. Young, Naut. Dict., 357. ‘Veer away the cable,’ that is, slack it and let it run out.
fig. 1769. M. Cumberland, Brothers, in Brit. Theat. (1808), XVIII. 17. I’ll veer away no more good advice after you.
c. To put on (cables) end to end. rare–1.
1806. A. Duncan, Nelson, 86. The latter continued … to drop to leeward, and the Theseus was obliged to veer on two cables to keep within reach of them.
4. To veer and haul: (see quots.).
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine, To Veer and haul, to pull a rope tight, by drawing it in and slackening it alternately,… so that the rope is straitened to a greater tension.
1841. R. H. Dana, Seaman’s Man., 133. To veer and haul, is to haul and slack alternately on a rope, as in warping, until the vessel or boat gets headway.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., To veer and haul, to gently tauten and then slacken a rope three times before giving a heavy pull, the object being to concentrate the force of several men.
1875. Bedford, Sailor’s Pocket Bk., viii. 282. By hauling and veering on it,… a sufficiently uniform strain on it would be obtained.
fig. 1891. C. Roberts, Adrift Amer., 251. The agents have a certain margin to veer and haul on in their commission.
1901. Speaker, 27 April, 109/2. Here is a sum on which the British Government may fairly veer and haul.
† 5. intr. Of a ship: To sail with the sheet let out. Obs.
a. 1625. Nomenclator Navalis (MS. Harl. 2301), s.v., When a Shipp sailes, and the Sheate is veered-out, wee saie she goes veering.
1692. Capt. Smith’s Seaman’s Gram., I. xvi. 76. The Ship goes Lasking, Quartering, Veering, or Large; are terms of the same signification, viz. that she neither goes by a Wind nor before the wind, but betwixt both.
