In 'Usage and Abusage', Eric Fowler states that 'pass' is misused for 'meet': e.g. a train passes another going in the same direction but meets one that is coming in the opposite direction.
Do you agree with this distinction?
I have to write a port rule with forbids two ships going in opposite directions meeting one another in a certain stretch of water. Currently, the rule prevents ships from 'passing' but that could be misconstrued as 'overtaking'; so, is 'meeting' a better word to use in this context?
"a train passes another going in the same direction " - true, in the same way a car passes a slow-moving vehicle on the road.
"but meets one that is coming in the opposite direction." Yes, they meet…and they PASS, going in opposite directions.
A ship's captain is not going to have a copy of Fowler's Niceties on the shelf alongside his sailor's almanac.
Spell it out in the rule, something like:
Two ships travelling in opposite directions are not permitted to pass each other in (a certain stretch of water). The northbound ship has the right of way.
The saying is, 'like two ships passing in the night'. To say, 'like two ships meeting in the night' has a totally different meaning!