halyard, halliard, haulyard Naut.
(ˈhæljəd, hɔːl-)
Forms: α. 4–5 halier, 5–6 hallyer, (5 halyher, halleyr, hayllyer, 6 hellier, 7 harriar). β. 7–9 hallyard, 7– halliard, halyard, (7 halli-yard, hallyeard), 8– haulyard.
[orig. halier, hallyer, the same as hallier, f. hale v.: in 17th c. perverted by association with yard]
1. A rope or tackle used for raising or lowering a sail, yard, spar, or flag.
| 1373 Indenture in Riley Lond. Mem. (1868) 370, 2 haliers, 2 yerderopes..2 shettes. 1495–7 Naval Acc. Hen. VII, (1896) 106 Ropes cald Hawsers, Craneropes, Gynne ropes, Haliers, Cartropes. Ibid. 197 Hallyers for the foresale. 1592 W. Wyrley Armorie 144 Not any helliers end, Hawser, booling, but soone he will amend. 1611 Cotgr., Guinderesse..the mizen halliards; the rope whereby the mizen sayle is hoysed vp. 1612 Dekker If it be not good Wks. 1873 III. 293 Let goe your Harriars, let goe, amaine louere amaine. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 21 The Halyards belong to all masts, for by them we hoise the yards to their height. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. (1779) I. ii. 16 From the sprit-sail-yard to the mizen top-sail haulyards. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 13 The bow-lines and the hall-yards quickly gone. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. viii, Clap on, both of you, and get another pull at those haulyards. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Halliards, Halyards, Haulyards. 1879 Tennyson Def. Lucknow i, Banner of England..Shot through the staff or the halyard. |
b. With defining word prefixed: as
crow-foot halyards, lines through a block on the lower stay, and bent to the crow-foot on the awning (Hamersly Naval Encycl.); peak-halyards, those used on gaffs and hooked to the peak; signal-halyards, light lines extending from the deck to the trucks or gaff-ends, used for hoisting signal-flags; throat-halyards, those that are used on gaffs, hooked to the jaws, etc.
| 1770 Winn in Phil. Trans. LX. 191 The pendant halliards, which pass over a sheave in the truck, on the top-gallant-mast-head. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xxviii, A tail-block and the studding-sail haulyards. 1836 ― Midsh. Easy xvii, Made it fast to the peak halyards and hoisted it up. |
2. attrib., as halyard block; halyard-rack, a wooden framework in which the running part of any halyard is kept coiled, so as to be always clear for running.
| 1833 Marryat P. Simple xii, I'll come to an anchor on the topsail halyard rack. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 75 The mizen cap has a bolt on the after part for the peak halyard block. |