E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Half-deck.
The sanctum of the second mate, carpenters, coopers, boatswain, and all secondary officers. Quarter-deck, the sanctum of the captain and superior officers. In a gun-decked ship, it is the deck below the spar-deck, extending from the mainmast to the cabin bulk-heads.
