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sheepshank

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sheep⋅shank

  [sheep-shangk]
Use sheepshank in a Sentence
–noun
a kind of knot, hitch, or bend made on a rope to shorten it temporarily.
Origin:
1635–45; short for sheepshank knot; literal sense unclear
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sheep·shank   (shēp'shāngk')   
n.  A hitch made in a line to shorten it.
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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Word Origin & History

sheepshank 
1675, "leg of a sheep," from sheep + shank. Attested earlier in transf. sense of "type of sailor's knot used to shorten a rope without cutting it" (1627).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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