Forecastle

This is the front of a ship’s deck, essentially. If you’re standing on the deck of a ship – meaning, the topmost floor surface not part of a superstructure – then walk towards the front of a ship, you’re on the forecastle. On a sailing ship, it’s considered the area of the desk forward of the forward-most mast.

It’s pronounced “folk-suhl,” and weirdly it’s often abbreviated “fo’c’sle”

Why I Looked It Up

In Ninety Percent of Everything, it’s often mentioned by the author (in abbreviated form. which is why I looked it up), in reference to the ship she was traveling on:

I often head for the fo’c’sle. It has become my terrace and my garden. Unescorted, I am free to lean over the bulbous bow and watch it move water.