bight
[bahyt]
- the middle part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
- the loop or bent part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
- a bend or curve in the shore of a sea or river.
- a body of water bounded by such a bend.
- a bay or gulf.
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- to fasten with a bight of rope.
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Origin of bight
before 1000; Middle English byght, Old English byht bend, bay; cognate with Dutch bocht, German Bucht; akin to bow1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bight
Contemporary Examples
Humans, however, are rarely seen—the Bight is more than man can chew...
Historical Examples
All busy preparing for a start for the Head of the Bight to-morrow.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Bight hours was the time Mr. Gladstone permitted himself to sleep.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
It has a seacoast of about 200 miles on the Bight of Biafra.
On the 28th of August came the battle off the Bight of Helgoland.
But at the last moment he managed to clutch the bight of the hanging rope.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
bight
- a wide indentation of a shoreline, or the body of water bounded by such a curve
- the slack middle part of an extended rope
- a curve or loop in a rope
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- (tr) to fasten or bind with a bight
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Word Origin
Old English byht; see bow ²
Bight
- the Bight Australian informal the major indentation of the S coast of Australia, from Cape Pasley in W Australia to the Eyre Peninsula in S AustraliaIn full: the Great Australian Bight
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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
Word Origin and History for bight
n.
Old English byht "bend, angle, corner" (related to bow), from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (cf. Middle Low German bucht, German Bucht, Dutch bocht, Danish bught "bight, bay"), from PIE root *bheug- (3) "to bend," with derivatives referring to bent, pliable, or curved objects (cf. Old English beag, Old High German boug "ring;" see bow (v.)). Sense of "indentation on a coastline" is from late 15c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bight
[bīt]
- A long, gradual bend or curve in a shoreline. A bight can be larger than a bay, or it can be a segment of a bay.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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