Green hand (whaling)

{{Short description|Term for an inexperienced crew member}}

{{For|Green hand disambiguation|Green hand (disambiguation){{!}}Green hand}}

A green hand (also "greenhand" or "greenie") is a term for an inexperienced crew member of a 19th-century whaler on his first voyage,{{cite web|url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:bk1DJy0wfn0J:www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/Library/WhalingProject/FAQs.htm+%22green+hand%22+%2Bwhaling&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=20&gl=us&client=firefox-a|title=New Bedford Whaling project FAQ|last=|first=|date=|publisher=|accessdate=2008-08-11}} and who would typically have the smallest "lay", or share, in the profits.{{Cite web|url=http://www.girlonawhaleship.org/jernapp/refCard.do?shortName=greenhand|title=Crew - Greenhand|website=www.girlonawhaleship.org|access-date=2020-03-05}}