Dunnage

Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 4: Dionysius to Friction, p. 124–125

Dunnage, on shipboard, is a name applied to miscellaneous fagots, boughs, bamboos, odd mats or sails, and loose wood of any kind, laid in the bottom of the hold to keep the cargo out of the bilge-water; or wedged between parts of the cargo to keep them steady.

Source scan(s): p. 0133, p. 0134