supercargo
UK /ˈsuːpəˌkɑːɡəʊ/ · US /ˈsupəɹˌkɑɹɡoʊ/ noun
Forms supercargos supercargoes
- noun (historical) An officer on board a merchant ship who is in charge of the cargo and its sale; if there are two such officers, the senior one, the other being the subcargo.
- noun (obsolete) An agent or representative of a company in charge of its overseas business.
- noun (figurative) Any overseer or superintendent; also, an agent or representative; or an intermediary; a go-between, a middleman.
Etymology
From super- (prefix meaning ‘above; superior in position or title’) + earlier supracargo.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An officer or person in a merchant ship, whose duty is to manage the sales, and superintend the commercial concerns, of the voyage.
Etymology [Super- + cargo: cf. Sp. sobrecargo. Cf. Surcharge.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “supercargo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details