Adjacent Words

Athwart hawse definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Athwart A*thwart", prep. [Pref. a- + thwart.] 1. Across; from side to side of. Athwart the thicket lone. --Tennyson. 2. (Naut.) Across the direction or course of; as, a fleet standing athwart our course. Athwart hawse, across the stem of another vessel, whether in contact or at a small distance. Athwart ships, across the ship from side to side, or in that direction; -- opposed to fore and aft.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hawse Hawse (h[add]z or h[add]s; 277), n. [Orig. a hawse hole, or hole in the ship; cf. Icel. hals, h[=a]ls, neck, part of the bows of a ship, AS. heals neck. See Collar, and cf. Halse to embrace.] 1. A hawse hole. --Harris. 2. (Naut.) (a) The situation of the cables when a vessel is moored with two anchors, one on the starboard, the other on the port bow. (b) The distance ahead to which the cables usually extend; as, the ship has a clear or open hawse, or a foul hawse; to anchor in our hawse, or athwart hawse. (c) That part of a vessel's bow in which are the hawse holes for the cables. Athwart hawse. See under Athwart. Foul hawse, a hawse in which the cables cross each other, or are twisted together. Hawse block, a block used to stop up a hawse hole at sea; -- called also hawse plug. Hawse hole, a hole in the bow of a ship, through which a cable passes. Hawse piece, one of the foremost timbers of a ship, through which the hawse hole is cut. Hawse plug. Same as Hawse block (above). To come in at the hawse holes, to enter the naval service at the lowest grade. [Cant] To freshen the hawse, to veer out a little more cable and bring the chafe and strain on another part.