Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
motonave and M/N
English translation:
(medium-size) motor vessel and M/V
Italian term
Australia
motonave and M/N
I am hoping that someone can help me with finding the appropriate translation for M/N before the name of a ship. The text reads "... imbarcato sulla M/N .... (name of ship)". I understand that M/N stands for "motonave", but when I look up that word in an Italian to English dictionary, I get nothing helpful- "motorship" or "motor vessel". Italian definitions I've found aren't helpful for my purposes either, along the lines of "nave mercantile con apparato motore a combustione interna per il trasporto di merci o passeggieri." So, if possible, I would like your views on the meaning of "motonave" and the appropriate English abbreviation.
Your help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Isobel
| 4 | (medium-size) motor vessel and M/V |
Adrian MM.
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| 5 | M.S. |
Wolfgang Hager
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Sep 24, 2020 10:12: Adrian MM. Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (2): Barbara Carrara, Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
(medium-size) motor vessel and M/V
Though the security interest is called a 'ship mortgage' or 'ship's lien', there is a distinction in the dimensions of a boat, ship and vessel.
MV (M/V) Motor Vessel[7] (interchangeable with MS) - NO!
Generally smaller and less complex vessels are 'boats', whilst larger and more complex vessels are 'ships'. As a general rule, you can put a boat on a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_prefix
http://www.theshippinglawblog.com/2010/07/q-are-terms-boat-ship-and-vessel.html
Italy
Comprehension and Accuracy
Native in: German 
Works in: German to English, Italian to English, English to German
M.S.
| neutral |
philgoddard
: I don't understand your explanation.
3 hrs
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nobody says "motorship", but that is the official term at the basis of the abbreviation. I live on a S.S, and no one says sailing ship, either
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Discussion