knighthead

English

Etymology

From knight +‎ head; sometimes decorated with a carving of a man's head.

Noun

knighthead (plural knightheads)

  1. A mitred backing timber which extends the after line of the rabbet in the stem to give extra support to the ends of the planks and the bowsprit.
  2. A bollard or bitt.
  3. Either of two timbers rising from the keel of a sailing ship and supporting the inner end of the bowsprit.

References

  • Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc., 1997, available on Infoplease.
  • The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000, available on Bartleby.
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