bowline

[boh-lin, -lahyn]

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noun

Also called bowline knot. a knot used to make a nonslipping loop on the end of a rope.

Nautical. a rope made fast to the weather leech of a square sail, for keeping the sail as flat as possible when close-hauled.

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Idioms

on a bowline, Nautical. sailing close-hauled.

on an easy bowline, Nautical. close-hauled with sails well filled.

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Bowline is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English bouline, equivalent to bou- (perhaps boue bow²) + line line¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

bowline (ˈbəʊlɪn)

—n
1.	a line for controlling the weather leech of a square sail when a vessel is close-hauled
2.	on a bowline beating close to the wind
3.	a knot used for securing a loop that will not slip at the end of a piece of rope

[C14: probably from Middle Low German bōlīne, equivalent to bow³ + line¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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bowline

bow·line