knot
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Old English cnotta; (cognate with Old High German knoto; compare also Old Norse knótr > Danish knude, Norwegian knut). Cognate with Dutch knot.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
knot (plural knots)
- A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
- Climbers must make sure that all knots are both secure and of types that will not weaken the rope.
- (of hair, etc) A tangled clump.
- The nurse was brushing knots from the protesting child's hair.
- A maze-like pattern.
- (mathematics) A closed curve that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
- A difficult situation.
- I got into a knot when I inadvertently insulted the policeman.
- (nautical) A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.
- Cedric claimed his beat-up old yacht could make 20 knots, if he would just make a few repairs, but we figured he was pulling our leg.
- Either of two species of small wading birds, the red knot (Calidris canutus) and the great knot (Calidris tenuirostris).
- The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree's trunk.
- When preparing to tell stories at a campfire, I like to set aside a pile of pine logs with lots of knots, since they burn brighter and make dramatic pops and cracks.
- Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.
- Jeremy had a knot on his head where he had bumped it on the bedframe.
- A group of people or things.
- 1968, Bryce Walton, Harpoon Gunner, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, NY, (1968), page 20,
- He pushed through knots of whalemen grouped with their families and friends, and surrounded by piles of luggage.
- 1968, Bryce Walton, Harpoon Gunner, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, NY, (1968), page 20,
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
looping
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tangled clump
maze-like pattern
mathematics closed curve
difficult situation
nautical unit of speed
variety of wading bird
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whorl in wood left by branch
firm swollen tissue caused by injury
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Translations to be checked
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to knot (third-person singular simple present knots, present participle knotting, simple past and past participle knotted)
- To form into a knot; tie with (a) knot(s).
- We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
- To form wrinkles in the forehead, as a sign of concentration, concern, surprise, etc.
- She knotted her brow in concentration while attempting to unravel the tangled strands.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Translations
form into a knot; tie with knot(s)
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form wrinkles in forehead
[edit] See also
[edit] Dutch
[edit] Etymology 1
Germanic, from Middle Dutch cnudde, cognate with knod, English knot, Frisian knotte, (Middle) High German Knotze etc.
[edit] Noun
knot (plural knotten, diminutive knotje, diminutive plural knotjes)
- A knot, bun (of hair), skein
- The top or crest (with messy branches) of certain woody plants, notably willows
- A flax seed box
- (dialect) A marble to play with
- A prank, joke
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Verb form
knot
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Etymology 2
From the cognate English knot, possibly influenced by Vulgar Latin canutus (“‘grey-headed", "grizzled’”)
[edit] Noun
knot (plural knotten, diminutive knotje, diminutive plural knotjes)
- The bird species Tringa canutis, Calidris canutus
[edit] Synonyms
- kanoetstrandvogel m.
- kanoetvogel m.
[edit] Polish
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /knɔt/
[edit] Noun
knot m. (plural knoty)
- A wick (as of a candle)
