swabber

Noun

swabber (plural swabbers)

1. One who swabs a floor or deck.
   • The master, the swabber, the boatswain, and I,
     The gunner, and his mate,
     Lov'd Mall, Meg, and Marian, and Margery,
     But none of us car'd for Kate: […]1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
   • It was the old custom of the sea that they should hail as a liar the man first caught in a lie on a Monday morning and proclaim him thus from the mainmast, and unhappy was the man thus hailed, for thereby he became for a week the ‘‘ship’s liar” and held his place under the swabber.1923, Charles Boardman Hawes, The Dark Frigate, Chapter 7
2. An instrument for swabbing.
   • Meaningless filler code that shouldn't interact with a person's DNA. […] He pulls a pen-size swabber from his pocket, chrome finished with a needle point on one end, and a pad for swabbing on the other.2017, Emily Suvada, This Mortal Coil, page 337
3. A baker's implement for cleaning ovens.
4. (historical) An interior officer on British warships, responsible for seeing that the ship was kept clean.
5. Four privileged cards, formerly used in betting in whist.