Adjacent Words

Hawse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HAWSE, n. hawz. [See Halser.] The situation of a ship moored with two anchors from the bows, one on the starboard, the other on the larboard bow; as, the ship has a clear hawse, or a foul hawse. A foul hawse is when the cables cross each other or are twisted together.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the hole that an anchor rope passes through [syn: hawse, hawsehole, hawsepipe]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: alteration of Middle English halse, from Old Norse hals neck, hawse; akin to Old English heals, neck — more at collar Date: 14th century 1. a. the part of a ship's bow that contains the hawseholes b. hawsehole 2. the distance between a ship's bow and her anchor

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the part of a ship's bows in which hawse-holes or hawse-pipes are placed. 2 the space between the head of an anchored vessel and the anchors. 3 the arrangement of cables when a ship is moored with port and starboard forward anchors. Phrases and idioms: hawse-hole a hole in the side of a ship through which a cable or anchor-rope passes. hawse-pipe a metal pipe lining a hawse-hole. Etymology: ME halse, prob. f. ON háls neck, ship's bow

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.