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footrope

[foo t-rohp]
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noun Nautical.
  1. the portion of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewn.
  2. a rope suspended a few feet beneath a yard, bowsprit, jib boom, or spanker boom to give a footing for a person handling sails.
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Origin of footrope

First recorded in 1765–75; foot + rope
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for footrope

Historical Examples

  • A footrope ran below the spar; one could balance oneself by its help and he vaguely distinguished somebody close by.

    Wyndham's Pal

    Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for footrope

footrope

noun nautical
  1. the part of a boltrope to which the foot of a sail is stitched
  2. a rope fixed so as to hang below a yard to serve as a foothold
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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