standing rigging

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. rigging remaining permanently in position as a means of steadying various spars, shrouds, stays, etc. (contrasted with running rigging).

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standing rigging British  

noun

1. the stays, shrouds, and other more or less fixed, though adjustable, wires and ropes that support the masts of a sailing vessel Compare running rigging

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Etymology

Origin of standing rigging

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

standing rigging

The frames are oak, the planking Oregon pine, the decks canvas-covered spruce, the standing rigging stainless steel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Why, b’y, when they’ve got her cargo, they’ll chop off her standing rigging and draw the nails from her deck planks.”

From Billy Topsail & Company A Story for Boys by Duncan, Norman

Of course, all canvas and running gear had rotted away, but here and there was a leg of standing rigging, preserved by the tar.

From The Grain Ship by Robertson, Morgan

A faint light, however, struck upward and brought out the lacery of the after standing rigging.

From The Ice Pilot by Leverage, Henry

You do not need to follow out every line in the standing rigging even, in order to paint a ship properly.

From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Parkhurst, Daniel Burleigh