shipshape
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L340392 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/ / /ˈʃɪpˌʃeɪp/
adj
Etymology: From ship + shapen (“shaped; wrought with a definite shape”), later shortened to shape. The word is of nautical origin, based on the obligation of a sailor to keep his or her quarters arranged neatly and securely due to the limited space typically allotted to service members aboard ship, and against turbulence at sea.
- Meticulously neat and tidy.
“SHIP-shape, in a seaman-like manner; as "That mast is not rigged ship-shape;" "Put her about ship-shape," &c.”
“[I]t would have been more ship-shape to lower the bight of a rope, or a running bow-line, below me, than to seize an old sea-man by his head-lanyard; [...]”
adv
Etymology: From ship + shapen (“shaped; wrought with a definite shape”), later shortened to shape. The word is of nautical origin, based on the obligation of a sailor to keep his or her quarters arranged neatly and securely due to the limited space typically allotted to service members aboard ship, and against turbulence at sea.
- Neatly and tidily to a meticulous extent.
“No—sir—if I sink, I sink; but d——e, I'll go down ship-shape and with dignity.”
“I have said a good deal about Bertha, because I like her frank, easy way, her desire to please, and her pleasant natural manner of doing it. I do n't think novel-writers and picture-makers say enough about such girls. [...] Those are the girls, Ma'am, whom I want to see described by people who know how to do this sort of thing up shipshape.”