Lighter
Defined in 4 dictionaries — Ballentine's (1916), Black's (1910), Black's (1891), Abbott (1879)
Ballentine's Law Dictionary
James A. Ballentine · 1916
Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
A Dictionary of Law
Henry Campbell Black · 1891
A small vessel used in loading and unloading ships and steamers,
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
A small vessel employed in unlading (lightening) vessels whose draught prevents their coming to wharf. Lighterage: the business of bringing in cargo from vessels too large to come to wharf; also, the price or charge for such service by means of small vessels. Lighterman: the master or manager of a lighter; a person engaged in lighterage. Lighterage, in the sense of the price paid for unloading ships by lighters or boats, does not embrace a charge for taking a boat to another pier instead of the usual one of delivery. Western Transportation Co. V. Hawley, 1 Daly, 327.