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What is a ship's gender and why?

Updated: 8/18/2019
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11y ago

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Ships are usually referenced in the female gender. It is unclear why, and is mostly a lost part of history.

Theory 1: It could be related to the pagan roots behind the practice of christening a ship. Ancient pagans prayed to female deities for protection and made the ship feminine in their honor.

Theory 2: It could be now that most who sponsor and name ships are female.

Theory 3: English was once a gendered language before Americans got a hold of it. In every gendered language, ships are considered feminine. So while our language changed and ships became neutral objects, there is still the traditional holdover.

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Q: What is a ship's gender and why?
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