ria troile_), and often applied
to a stupid person.

COOTH. _See_ CUTH.

COP, OR COPT. The top of a conical hill.

COPE. An old English word for cape.

COPECK. _See_ KOPEK.

COPERNICAN SYSTEM. The Pythagorean system of the universe, revived by
Copernicus in the sixteenth century, and now confirmed; in which the sun
occupies the central space, and the planets with their attendant
satellites revolve about him.

COPILL. An old term for a variety of the coble.

COPING. In ship-building, turning the ends of iron lodging-knees, so
that they may hook into the beams.

COPPER, TO. To cover the ship's bottom with prepared copper.

COPPER-BOLTS. _See_ COPPER-FASTENED.

COPPERED, OR COPPER-BOTTOMED. Sheathed with thin sheets of copper, which
prevents the teredo eating into the planks, or shell and weed
accumulating on the surface, whereby a ship is retarded in her sailing.

COPPER-FASTENED. The bolts and other metal work in the bottom of ships,
made of copper instead of iron, so that the vessel may afterwards be
coppered without danger of its corroding the heads of the bolts by
galvanic action, as ensues when copper and iron are in contact with
sea-water.

COPPER-NAILS. These are chiefly used in boat-building, and for plank
nails in the vicinity of the binnacle, as iron affects the
compass-needle. They are not to be confounded with _composition nails_,
which are cast. (_See_ ROOF, OR ROVE and CLINCH.)

COPPERS. The ship's boilers for cooking; the name is generally used,
even where the apparatus may be made of iron.

COQUILLAGE. Shell-fish in general. It applies to anchorages where
oysters abound, or where fish are plentiful, and shell-fish for bait
easily obtainable. It is specially a term belonging to French and
Spanish fishermen.

CORAB. A sort of boat, otherwise called _coracle_.

CORACLE. An ancient British truckle or boat, constructed of wicker-work,
and still in use amongst Welsh fishermen and on the Irish lakes. It is
covered by skins, oil-cloth, &c., which are removed when out of use; it
is of an oval form; contains one man, who, on reaching the shore,
shoulders his coracle, deposits it in safety, and covers it with dried
rushes or heather. The Arctic _baidar_ is of similar construction. It is
probably of the like primitive fabric with the _cymba sutiles_ of
Herodotus.

CORACORA. _See_ KOROCORA.

CORAL. A name applied to the hard calcareous support or skeleton of many
species of marine zoophytes. Th