sennit

American  

[sen-it] / ˈsɛn ɪt /

Also sinnet or sennet

noun

1. a flat, braided cordage, formed by plaiting strands of rope yarn or other fiber, used as small stuff aboard ships.

2. braided straw or grass used in making hats.

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sennit British  

/ ˈsɛnɪt /

noun

1. a flat braided cordage used on ships

2. plaited straw, grass, palm leaves, etc, as for making hats

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Etymology

Origin of sennit

First recorded in 1760–70; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Charmian was attracted by a fancy braid of straw sennit, thirty feet of it in a roll, sufficient to make a hat of any design one wished; the roll of sennit was hers.

From The Cruise of the Snark by London, Jack

It had a door formed of thin poles lashed together with sennit.

From Peter Trawl The Adventures of a Whaler by Durden, James

Imported hats have a wide range of styles and prices, including not only sewed hats of sennit braid but also those of fancy braids, and woven body hats such as leghorns.

From Men's Sewed Straw Hats Report of the United Stated Tariff Commission to the President of the United States (1926) by Commission, United States Tariff

After being thus disintegrated, the tow was spun into sennit or fine twine and yarn which is always of use on board, quantities of it being used in “serving” and “parcelling” for chafing gear.

From Afloat at Last A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea by Overend, William Heysham

Slowly we edged our way across the belt of calms to the northward of the Line, inch by inch, our efforts almost entirely confined to working the ship and making sennit.

From The Log of a Sea-Waif Being Recollections of the First Four Years of My Sea Life by Bullen, Frank T.