earing

[ eer-ing ]

nounNautical.

a rope attached to a cringle and used for bending a corner of a sail to a yard, boom, or gaff or for reefing a sail.

Origin of earing

First recorded in 1620–30; ear¹ + -ing¹

Words Nearby earing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use earing in a sentence

The post of honour among seamen in reefing sails is the weather earing.
The Ferryman of Brill | William H. G. Kingston
The serang himself lay out on the weather yard-arm, and I saw him, earing in hand, working away actively with the rest.
In the Eastern Seas | W.H.G. Kingston
Whatever I may find necessary to order, Mr earing, this ship's company will find it necessary to execute.
The Red Rover | James Fenimore Cooper
earing faced his Commander in silence, perfectly conscious that nothing he could utter contained an argument like this.
The Red Rover | James Fenimore Cooper
It would have exceeded the peaceful and submissive temperament of the honest earing, to have delayed any longer.
The Red Rover | James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for earing

earing

/ (ˈɪərɪŋ) /

noun

nautical a line fastened to a corner of a sail for reefing

Origin of earing

C17: from ear 1 + -ing 1 or perhaps ring 1

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

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