noun
also plimsoll line
Usage: usually capitalized P
Etymology: after Samuel Plimsoll died 1898 English leader of shipping reform
1. : a circle intersected by a horizontal line that is marked amidships on the sides of a seagoing cargo ship to represent the summer load line and is accompanied by letters indicating the authority under which the ship is registered : the minimum summer freeboard mark — compare draft mark
2.
a. : a set of load-line markings on a seagoing cargo ship including the Plimsoll mark and the graduated load lines beside it
b. : load line 2
[s]plimsoll.jpg[/s] [
Plimsoll mark: TF tropical freshwater mark; F freshwater mark; T tropical load line; S summer load line; W winter load line; WNA winter load line, North Atlantic
]