hawsehole

Etymology

hawse + hole

noun

  1. (nautical) The hole through which a ship's anchor rope is passed.
    The bolsters can be seen outboard of the hawseholes, and the way they are cut away to permit the passage of the anchor-cables. 1986, Jean Boudriot, The Seventy-four Gun Ship, page 59
    Then he saw. a few feet aft of the hawsehole, a darker spot on the hull—someone had left a porthole open below the forecastle. in the hold that was the crews' quarters. 2002, David Sherman, Demontech, Book 1: Onslaught, page 21
    Its overlapping steel plates and the empty hawseholes, from which the anchors will soon be suspended, are visible. 2004, Nelson H. Lawry, Glen M. Williford, Leo K. Polaski, Portsmouth Harbor's Military and Naval Heritage, page 86
  2. (nautical) A hole in a ship through which a hawser is passed.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/hawsehole), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.