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Definition of boatswain : 1. An officer who has charge of the boats, sails, rigging, colors, anchors, cables, cordage, etc., of a ship, and who also summons the crew, and performs other duties.
2. The jager gull.
3. The tropic bird.

Synonyms:

bo'sun, bo's'n, bosun, bos'n

helmsman, ferryman, ship man, salt, sailor, boater, mate, barge-man, gondolier, mariner, tar, pilot, navigator, boatman, yeoman, seaman, steersman, captain

Usage examples:

• They had taken much notice of the boatswain, who was a fine sturdy seaman, and evidently felt flattered by their attention. - "Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey", Washington Irving.
• There, I found a virtuous boatswain in His Majesty's service,- a most excellent man, though I could have wished his trousers not quite so tight in some places, and not quite so loose in others,- who knocked all the little men's hats over their eyes, though he was very generous and brave, and who wouldn't hear of anybody's paying taxes, though he was very patriotic. - "Great Expectations", Charles Dickens.
• Spike, called out the boatswain. - "Jack Tier or The Florida Reef", James Fenimore Cooper.