noun.
A passage or opening leading to a hold, compartment, or cellar.
noun.
A ladder or stairway within a hatchway.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
A square or oblong opening in the deck of a ship, affording a passage from one deck to another, or into the hold or lower apartments. See hatch, n., 3.
noun.
The opening of any trapdoor, as in a floor, ceiling, or roof.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
A square or oblong opening in a deck or floor, affording passage from one deck or story to another; the entrance to a cellar.