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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