Sentence:  The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the <WSD>parent</WSD> ship, had recently been painted a vivid green. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Sponsor, supporter, owner, protector. <ref name=COED2>(page=1274)</ref>