Why do we call a ship or a plane 'she'?

Question

Where / when did this idea started? I'm just wondering.

Answer 1

found this on the web

A Ship is called a she for many reasons;

Some say that every ship was ALWAYS dedicated to a goddess leading to the ship being referred to as a she.

A different Idea is that the crew always considered the ship to be like a mother so the ship was referred to as a she with a great deal of respect.

Another theory is that with the spread of the Roman empire who had always referred to a ship as a she, the naming spread with the empire across Europe. The with the British empire was spread around the world and it has stuck.

My reason is similar to the second reason that shipping companies have mainly been owned and operated by men who have feel in love with their work and have named the ship she. I do struggle to find out why some American ships have names like President Roosevelt and that the United States had a very male profile about her unlike the Normandie which is the most attractive ships of all time.

British ships tend to have a very functional appearance compared to French or German ships like the France or Bremen.

Answer 2

From very old time there exist a tradition to regard some things as feminine when there is a dependency for life or are very dear to us, as there is for a mother.
Taking in account that the very first sailors and pilots were men and the existence of this custom, they refered their ships or planes using a feminine gender, mainly because the close dependence the those objects had for their life and sustenance.

Answer 3

It's lost in time, but what really surprises me is that people who speak English only ask questions like this. There are a lot of languages with grammatic gender that doesn't necessarily correlate exactly with actual sex. Why is a German woman feminine when a girl is neutral? It's no big deal. And recognizing that there is such a thing as grammatic gender saves us from those horrid constructions like "he or she" when "he" will do nicely.

Answer 4

Things of beauty, grace, and speed are referred to as fermium so men can show their affection without feeling homophobic.

Answer 5

Pilots, sailors, race car drivers will refer to their vessels/vehicles as she because they often name them after a female loved one, mother , grandmother, girlfreind etc.

Answer 6

because all beautiful things are she

right

good luck

Answer 7

in latin, naviga, ae was feminine in gender.