half-hitch
[See hitch n.]
1. Naut. A hitch formed by passing the end of a rope round its standing part, and then through the bight: the simplest form of hitch.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Demi-cleff, a half-hitch on a rope. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 156 Taking two half hitches round it. |
2. A term used by pillow lace makers to denote the loop given to tighten the thread after it has been wound upon the bobbins. (Caulfeild & Saward, Dict. Needlework, 1882.)