A Jonah, in the context of maritime vernacular, refers to an individual, whether a sailor or a passenger, who is believed to carry a jinx or curse. This person's presence aboard a ship is viewed as a harbinger of misfortune and disaster, and often associated with various maritime accidents or adversities such as poor weather conditions, equipment failure or shipwreck. Derived from the Biblical story of Jonah who brought storm upon his ship due to his disobedience to God, a Jonah is often blamed or scapegoated for the troubles that happen aboard the vessel. The superstition around a Jonah often arises from sailors' fear of the unpredictable and dangerous nature of the sea, leading to an attributing of bad luck to an individual rather than coincidental or uncontrollable circumstances.

1. Captain Stevens couldn't shake the feeling that the newly hired deckhand was a Jonah. Ever since he had stepped on board, they had experienced an unprecedented series of engine failures, violent storms, and navigation errors. 2. My grandfather used to tell me stories about a Jonah he once sailed with. The ship had never experienced so many misfortunes before - raging storms, lost cargo, even a massive leak in the hull. But as soon as the man was left at the next port, their journey had been smooth and uneventful. 3. The mysterious woman had boarded the luxury cruise as the last passenger. From the moment she stepped onto the ship, it seemed as if luck had abandoned them: systems started failing, the weather turned rough, and food supplies were contaminated. The crew quickly started whispering that she might be a Jonah. 4. During World War II, there was a famous tale of a Jonah among the navy seamen. They said his presence on a ship was the kiss of death - engine malfunctions, surprise attacks, even devastating storms seemed to follow him from ship to ship. 5. The seafaring superstition of the Jonah was much feared among sailors in the 19th century. One such Jonah called Finnegan was notorious. His presence on three whaling ships consecutively coincided with ship wreckages, leaving the seafaring community in deep fear and ultimately stranding him ashore.

Fun Fact: The concept of a jinxed passenger or sailor causing havoc on a ship is not new and can be traced back to biblical times with the story of Jonah from the Book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah, a prophet, disobeys God's command and sails off to Tarshish instead. His disobedience turns him into a jinx - his presence on the ship arouses a violent storm threatening to break the vessel. The terrified sailors, believing that someone's sin has caused this misfortune, find out it's Jonah. They are forced to throw him overboard to calm the storm and save their ship. Thus, Jonah serves as an early archetype for the idea of a "jinxed" or bad-luck-bringing sailor. Ironically, the story doesn't end in doom for Jonah as he is swallowed by a big fish, in whose belly he resides for three days and three nights, only to be spat out later, marking a legendary tale of survival and repentance.