hawsehole

[hawz-hohl, haws-]

noun

Nautical.

1. a hole in the stem or bow of a vessel for an anchor cable.

hawsehole

/ ˈhɔːzˌhəʊl /

noun

1. Often shortened to: hawse. nautical one of the holes in the upper part of the bows of a vessel through which the anchor ropes pass

Word History and Origins

Origin of hawsehole¹

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

He was not actually awake then, but he had the sensation of the ship halting, and heard a sound like that of chains whirling round the windlass and running through the hawseholes into the water.

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Crawl in at the cabin windows and don't bother about the hawsehole.

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The old ship herself longs to look out upon the land from her hawseholes once more, as Jack Lewis said right the other day when the captain found fault with his steering.

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Mutiny flew, as it were, out at the hawseholes, while discipline re-entered by the cabin windows.

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At length, when they heard the cable slipping through the hawsehole, they could stand it no longer, but sprang up the side in a body.

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