forecastle

• focastle, fo'castle, fo'c'stle, fo'c's'le (single, double and triple contraction)

From Middle English forecastel, forcastel, (whence also Anglo-French forechasteil), equivalent to fore- +‎ castle. Compare Dutch voorkasteel.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfoʊk.səl/, /ˈfoɹ.kæ.səl/

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forecastle (plural forecastles)

2. (nautical) A raised part of the upper deck at the front of a ship; the structure of this part of the ship; the crew's quarters located within it.

   Antonyms: aftcastle, aftercastle

   Holonyms: watercraft, vessel, vessel

   Comeronyms: well deck, foredeck, afterdeck, poop deck

   • 1904, Jack London, chapter 32, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:

     My knife was at my hip. I returned to my hut for the shotgun, made sure it was loaded, and went down to the Ghost. With some difficulty, and at the expense of a wetting to the waist, I climbed aboard. The forecastle scuttle was open. I paused to listen for the breathing of the men, but there was no breathing.