A nautical term meaning in or toward the lower part of a ship, below the deck.
From 'a-' (on, in) + 'low,' originally meaning down or beneath. Used extensively in maritime vocabulary from the Age of Sail onward.
Sailors had a completely different spatial vocabulary—'alow' and 'aloft' divided the ship into spiritual realms almost, with specific words for every section. These words were so specialized that landlubbers wouldn't understand ship conversations.
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