moor·ing

[moor-ing]
noun
1.
the act of a person or thing that moors.
2.
Usually, moorings. the means by which a ship, boat, or aircraft is moored.
3.
moorings, a place where a ship, boat, or aircraft may be moored.
4.
Usually, moorings. one's stability or security: After the death of his wife he lost his moorings.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English; compare Middle Dutch moor; see moor2, -ing1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Moorings is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
mooring (ˈmʊərɪŋ, ˈmɔː-) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a place for mooring a vessel
2.  a permanent anchor, dropped in the water and equipped with a floating buoy, to which vessels can moor

moorings (ˈmʊərɪŋz, ˈmɔː-) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—pl n
1.  nautical the ropes, anchors, etc, used in mooring a vessel
2.  (sometimes singular) something that provides security or stability

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

moorings
1744, from mooring (see moor (v.)). Figurative sense is from 1851.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Moorings are required if a vessel will be anchored or moored in the waters of
  the town.
It was push and pull all the way, with the entire cardboard hut rising from its
  moorings.
And dozens more are trying to break free of their national moorings.
The sanctuary maintains seasonal moorings at many shipwreck sites.
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