Saturday, March 02, 2013

word of the day: hawser

The word of the day is hawser:

Etymology:  apparently Anglo-Norman hauceour , < Old French haucier to hawse v., hoist; in reference to the original purpose of a hawser. 
Naut. 
a. A large rope or small cable, in size midway between a cable and a tow-line, between 5 and 10 inches in circumference; used in warping and mooring; in large ships now made of steel.  (OED)


"At about five-fifteen in the afternoon, the hawsers began to snap as the surge lifted the boats above the piers."

 - Ian Frazier, "The toll: Sandy and the future", 11 & 18 February 2013 The New Yorker

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