† 1. Mil. ? A fort placed on a height. Obs.
1604. E. Grimstone, Hist. Siege Ostend, 163. The 4. of Aprill 2. Frenchmen … fled vnto the enemies to the crowes neast.
2. Naut. A barrel or cylindrical box fixed to the mast-head of an arctic, whaling or other ship, as a shelter for the look-out man.
1818. Blackw. Mag., IV. 343. The Crows-Nest is … generally a cask, fixed near the mast-head, to protect the observer from cold, and enable him to look out for whales, or open pieces of water.
1823. W. Scoresby, Jrnl. Whale-Fishery, 470. Crow’s Nest.… This … was the invention of Captain Scoresby senior, and is now universally used by the northern whalers.
1856. Kane, Arctic Explor., I. iv. 38. I was able, from the crow’s-nest, to pick our way to a larger pool.
