gone north about: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  historical nautical EnglishBritish maritime usageidiomaticobsoletenautical
  • (historical, nautical) to be dead; specifically used of a sailor whose cause of death was anything other than drowning.

  Examples

  Beta

  • The captain’s log noted that the sailor had gone north about during the storm, not by drowning but from illness.

    The captain’s log noted that the sailor had died during the storm by a cause other than drowning.

  • Many sailors in the fleet had gone north about after the harsh winter, their deaths recorded carefully in the ship’s records.

    Many sailors had died from causes other than drowning during the harsh winter, recorded carefully in the ship’s records.

  • It was a sad day when old Jim gone north about, succumbing to disease far from the sea.

    It was a sad day when old Jim died, succumbing to disease rather than drowning.