hawser

[ haw-zer, -ser ]
See synonyms for hawser on Thesaurus.com
nounNautical.
  1. a heavy rope for mooring or towing.

Origin of hawser

1
1300–50; Middle English haucer<Anglo-French hauceour, equivalent to Middle French hauci(er) to hoist (<Late Latin *altiāre to raise, derivative of Latin altus high; see haughty) + -our-or2, -er2

Words Nearby hawser

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hawser in a sentence

  • Pike payed out the hawser, the coxswain eased off the spring; away went the boat, and next moment Pike had Stanley by the hair.

  • The hawser was slipped as he spoke; the lifeboat was hauled slowly but steadily to windward up to her anchor.

  • The hawser was made into a loop around his body and the other end was tied around the mother.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • He was pulled forward quite a distance, when the hawser broke and his fore-legs fell on the plank.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • The situation was not so bad as we thought, however, as it was very easy to slip another hawser under him.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji

British Dictionary definitions for hawser

hawser

/ (ˈhɔːzə) /


noun
  1. nautical a large heavy rope

Origin of hawser

1
C14: from Anglo-French hauceour, from Old French haucier to hoist, ultimately from Latin altus high

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012