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Bight - 5 dictionary results

bight

  [bahyt]
Use Bight in a Sentence
–noun
1. the middle part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
2. the loop or bent part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
3. a bend or curve in the shore of a sea or river.
4. a body of water bounded by such a bend.
5. a bay or gulf.
–verb (used with object)
6. to fasten with a bight of rope.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME byght, OE byht bend, bay; c. D bocht, G Bucht; akin to bow 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bight   (bīt)   
n.  
    1. A loop in a rope.
    2. The middle or slack part of an extended rope.
    3. A bend or curve, especially in a shoreline.
    4. A wide bay formed by such a bend or curve.
    1. A bend or curve, especially in a shoreline.
    2. A wide bay formed by such a bend or curve.

[Middle English, bend, angle, from Old English byht; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bight

Bight\ (b[imac]t), n. [OE. bi[yogh]t a bending; cf. Sw. & Dan. bugt bend, bay; fr. AS. byht, fr. b[=u]gan. [root]88. Cf. Bout, Bought a bend, and see Bow, v.]

1. A corner, bend, or angle; a hollow; as, the bight of a horse's knee; the bight of an elbow.

2. (Geog.) A bend in a coast forming an open bay; as, the Bight of Benin.

3. (Naut.) The double part of a rope when folded, in distinction from the ends; that is, a round, bend, or coil not including the ends; a loop.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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bight 
O.E. byht "bend, angle, corner" (related to bow), from P.Gmc. *bukhtis (cf. M.L.G. bucht, Ger. Bucht, Du. bocht). Geological sense of "indentation on a coastline" is from 1481.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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bight   (bīt)  Pronunciation Key 
A long, gradual bend or curve in a shoreline. A bight can be larger than a bay, or it can be a segment of a bay.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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