matross

noun

Etymology: From Dutch matroos (“sailor, seaman”), essentially from French matelot (“seaman”), from Middle Dutch mattenoot. Compare German Matrose, Swedish matros, Danish matros, and Crimean Tatar matros. Doublet of matelot.

1. An artilleryman next in rank to a gunner; a gunner's mate, especially one who assists the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns.

   “[T]he matrosses, in their annual gesture of amity, had torn the sky with the largest piece of ordnance in the Great Keep […].”