running rigging

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. rigging for handling sails, yards, etc. (contrasted with standing rigging).

2. rigging for handling cargo.

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running rigging British  

noun

1. nautical the wires and ropes used to control the operations of a sailing vessel Compare standing rigging

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Etymology

Origin of running rigging

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

Standing rod rigging is paired with running rigging of Gleistein Dyneema and Vectran ropes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then the squall struck whining from the west, with gale force, breaking both forestays, and the mast came toppling aft along the ship’s length, so the running rigging showered into the bilge.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

“Besides the poor fellows who have been hit, I dare say that our running rigging and sails will show that we have been engaged; yet now how calm and quiet everything is.”

From The Three Midshipmen by Prout, Victor

One after the other, barnacled anchors splashed from catheads, dragging rusty chains from hawse-holes, and old, patched sails came sprawling down with chuckle of sheaves and lisp of running rigging.

From Blow The Man Down A Romance Of The Coast - 1916 by Day, Holman

Her shrouds and running rigging had been cut away, and her remaining mast was tottering.

From The Rival Crusoes by Kingston, William Henry Giles