knots

[not] Origin

knot

1[not] noun, verb, knot·ted, knot·ting.
noun
1.
an interlacing, twining, looping, etc., of a cord, rope, or the like, drawn tight into a knob or lump, for fastening, binding, or connecting two cords together or a cord to something else.
2.
a piece of ribbon or similar material tied or folded upon itself and used or worn as an ornament.
3.
a group or cluster of persons or things: a knot of spectators.
4.
the hard, cross-grained mass of wood at the place where a branch joins the trunk of a tree.
5.
a part of this mass showing in a piece of lumber, wood panel, etc.
EXPAND
6.
Anatomy, Zoology. a protuberance or swelling on or in a part or process, as in a muscle.
7.
a protuberance in the tissue of a plant; an excrescence on a stem, branch, or root; a node or joint in a stem, especially when of swollen form.
8.
any of various fungal diseases of trees characterized by the formation of an excrescence, knob, or gnarl.
9.
an involved, intricate, or difficult matter; complicated problem.
10.
Nautical.
a.
a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile or about 1.15 statute miles per hour.
b.
a unit of 47 feet 3 inches (13.79 meters) on a log line, marked off by knots.
c.
a nautical mile.
11.
a bond or tie: the knot of matrimony.
12.
Also called joint, node. Mathematics. in interpolation, one of the points at which the values of a function are assigned.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
13.
to tie in a knot; form a knot in.
14.
to secure or fasten by a knot.
15.
to form protuberances, bosses, or knobs in; make knotty.

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Knots is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
verb (used without object)
16.
to become tied or tangled in a knot.
17.
to form knots or joints.
18.
tie the knot, Informal. to marry: They will tie the knot in November.

Origin:
before 1000; (noun) Middle English knot(te), Old English cnotta; cognate with Dutch knot, German knoten to knit; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun

knot·less, adjective
knot·like, adjective


3. company, band, crew, gang, crowd. 7. lump, knob, gnarl. 9. perplexity, puzzle, conundrum.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

knot

2[not]
noun
either of two large sandpipers, Calidris canutus or C. tenuirostris, that breed in the Arctic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Also called grayback.


Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To knots
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

knot
O.E. cnotta "intertwining of ropes, cords, etc.," from P.Gmc. *knuttan- (cf. Low Ger. knütte, Du. knot, O.H.G. knoto, Ger. Knoten, perhaps also O.N. knutr "knot, knob"). Fig. sense of "difficult problem" was in O.E. (cf. Gordian knot). Symbolic of the bond of wedlock, early 13c. As an ornament of
EXPAND
dress, first attested c.1400. Meaning "thickened part or protuberance on tissue of a plant" is from late 14c. The nautical unit of measure (1630s) is from the practice of attaching knotted string to the log line. The ship's speed can be measured by the number of knots that play out while the sand glass is running.
"The distance between the knots on the log-line should contain 1/120 of a mile, supposing the glass to run exactly half a minute." [Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America" 1760]
The verb meaning "to tie in a knot" is from 1547. Knot-hole is from 1726. Knothead "stupid person" is from 1940.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

knot (nŏt)
n.

  1. A compact intersection of interlaced material, as of cord, ribbon, or rope.

  2. A protuberant growth or swelling in a tissue, such as a gland.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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