ratline

or rat·lin

[ rat-lin ]

/ ˈræt lɪn /

noun Nautical.

any of the small ropes or lines that traverse the shrouds horizontally and serve as steps for going aloft.

Also ratline stuff. three-stranded, right-laid, tarred hemp stuff of from 6 to 24 threads, used for ratlines, lashings, etc.

Nearby words

rationalize, rationing, rations, ratisbon, ratite, ratline, rato, ratoon, ratpack, rats, ratsbane

Origin of ratline

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier ratling, radelyng < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ratline

It was above the second ratline in the fore-shrouds, and fully six feet over the rail.
Farthest North|Fridtjof Nansen
In walking along her gun-deck, he accidentally ran against a ratline, by which one of her starboard guns was discharged.
The Naval History of the United States|Willis J. Abbot.
Collins, bring your party into this room; and do not forget to bring along that length of ratline that I told you to have ready.
A Middy of the Slave Squadron|Harry Collingwood
A musket-ball carried away a ratline above his head, just as he reached forward.
Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812|James Barnes

Sakr-el-Bahr drank slowly, his eyes never leaving the vessel, whose every ratline was clearly defined by now in the pellucid air.
The Sea-Hawk|Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for ratline

ratline

ratlin

/ (ˈrætlɪn) /

noun

nautical any of a series of light lines tied across the shrouds of a sailing vessel for climbing aloft

Word Origin for ratline

C15: of unknown origin

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