navicert means A form of passport permitting a neutral ship to traverse a blockade in wartime. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 92 out of 100.
Why “navicert” is a great word
NAVICERT — [Noun] A certificate issued by a belligerent power authorizing a neutral ship to pass through a blockade by confirming its cargo is not contraband. Contraction of 'navigation certificate', first attested in 1941. Unlike a “passport,” which asserts an individual’s right to cross peacetime borders, or a “sea letter,” an older affidavit of a vessel’s nationality, a navicert is a specific, precarious permit granted by a watching war. It is the typewritten triplicate that separates a cargo of wheat from one of tungsten; the stamped paper that transforms a hold of grain from a prize into a promise; the flimsy document that attempts to legislate a corridor of mercy in a sea of total violence—a brittle artifact of order, negotiated at the muzzle of a gun.
Etymology
Contraction of navigation + certificate.
noun
- A form of passport permitting a neutral ship to traverse a blockade in wartime.