hawser Naut.
(ˈhɔːzə(r))
Forms: 4 hauceour, hauucour, haucer, (5 erron. anwser), 5–8 hauser, 6 halsor, 6–9 halser, haulser, (7 haurser, harser, -or, hasar, 7–8 hasser), 5– hawser.
[app. Anglo-Fr. hauceour, f. OF. haucier to hawse, hoist; in reference to the original purpose of a hawser. Cf. obs. F. hausserée, haulserée ‘the drawing, or haling of Barges, or great Boats vp a riuer by the force of men ashore’ (Cotgr.) from same source. Evidently from an early period associated in form and sense with hawse n.1: cf. sense 1 b, and hawse n.1 2.]
1. A large rope or small cable, in size midway between a cable and a tow-line, between 5 and 10 inches in circumference; used in warping and mooring; in large ships now made of steel.
| 1338 MS. Sacrist's Roll, Durham, Item j cabilus magnus xl cubitorum. Item j hauceour xxx cubitorum. 1355–6 Ibid., Item j hauucour et j alia corda. 1373 in Riley Lond. Mem. (1868) 369, 2 haucers pour boyropes, 2 touropes, 3 werpropes. 1465 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 200 An anwser weying iij. stone, viij. li. 1485–6 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 18 Cables of sundrie sortes vj, Caggyng cable j, Hauser j. Ibid. 36 Hawsers for the botes takle iiij. 1592–3 Act 35 Eliz. c. 8 Preamb., Cables, Halsors, and Cordage. 1615 Chapman Odyss. ii. 609 With well-wreath'd halsers hoise Their white sails. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 46 Ships..have a Hasar or Rope ready to send one end ashore. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 178 We..carry'd out two Hawsers and Anchors to heave the Ship off. 1831 E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son I. 230 He desired me to make fast a halser..to the ring-bolts of her bob-stays. 1855 Singleton Virgil II. 393 Saturnia snaps the halser. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) I. vi. 205 With three huge hawsers the ship's stern was made fast. |
b. Used by confusion for
hawse n.1 3.
| 1684 Otway Atheist ii. i, Laying your self atwart my Harser. 1787 Sir J. Hawkins Johnson 443 note, A barge..in great danger of running, as they call it, athwart the hawser and of oversetting. |
2. Comb., as
hawser-fashion adv.,
hawser-like adj.;
hawser-bend, a kind of hitch or knot;
hawser-clamp, a gripper for a hawser to prevent its veering out (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875);
† hawser-hole = hawse-hole;
hawser-laid a., made of three or four strands laid up into one;
† hawser-work, towing.
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. 197 A rope laid *hawser fashion is a rope consisting of any number of yarns according to the strength required, which divided into three strands, and each being twisted equally, are prepared to be laid into a rope. |
| 1802 Mitchell in Naval Chron. VII. 52 Daley was looking out at the *hawser-hole. |
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) s.v. Ropes, Ropes are either cable-laid or *hawser-laid. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 52 When three cablets are laid up together, it is called ‘hawser-laid’ rope. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. x. (ed. 2) 360 Running rigging is hawser-laid, right-handed. |
| 1675 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. iii. (1688) 411 The seamen, whom he encouraged at their *Halser-work. |