Poop deck - Wikipedia Poop deck Poop deck of a model of the Soleil - Royal, as seen from the forecastle In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or `` aft '', part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or `` after '' cabin, also known as the `` poop cabin ''. On sailing ships, the helmsman will steer the craft from the quarter deck, immediately in front of the poop deck. At the stern, the poop deck provides an elevated position ideal for observation. On modern, motorized warships, the ship functions which were once carried out on the poop deck have been moved to the bridge, usually located on the superstructure in the center of ships, or the starboard side island of aircraft carriers. See also Common names for decks Puppis References Jump up ^ Keegan, John ( 1989 ). The Price of Admiralty. New York : Viking. p. 279. ISBN 0 - 670 - 81416 - 4. Jump up ^ `` Poop Deck ''. HMS Victory. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Retrieved 27 April 2013. Located at the stern, this short deck takes its name from the Latin word puppis -- which means after deck or rear. Guns were rarely carried on this deck. It was mainly used as a viewpoint and signalling platform. The poop deck also gave protection to the men at the wheel and provided a roof for the captain 's cabin. The ropes controlling the yards ( spars ) and sails of the main and mizzen masts were operated from the poop deck. Parts of a sailing ship Aftercastle Afterdeck Anchor Anchor windlass Apparent wind indicator Beakhead Bilge Bilgeboard Bitts Boom brake Bow Bowsprit Capstan Cathead Centreboard Chains Cockpit Crow 's nest Daggerboard Deck Figurehead Forecastle Gangway Gunwale Head Hull Jackline Jibboom Keel Keel ( Canting ) Kelson Leeboard Mast Orlop deck Poop deck Prow Quarter gallery Quarterdeck Rudder Ship 's wheel Skeg Stem Stern Sternpost Strake Taffrail Tiller Top Transom Whipstaff Winch This article related to shipbuilding is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poop_deck&oldid=849596396 '' Categories : Sailing ship components Shipbuilding Nautical terminology Shipbuilding stubs Hidden categories : Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 All stub articles Talk View source About Wikipedia Български Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Français Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Svenska Українська 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 02 : 19 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: where does the name poop deck come from
Answer: the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis