downhaul

English

Etymology

From down- +‎ haul.

Noun

downhaul (plural downhauls)

1. (nautical) Any rope used to haul down a sail or spar.
   • 1914, Jack London, The Mutiny of the Elsinore, Chapter XLVI:

     The only sail that is wholly ours is the spanker. They control absolutely--sheets, halyards, clewlines, buntlines, braces, and down-hauls--every sail on the fore and main. We control the braces on the mizzen, although they control the canvas on the mizzen.

Hypernyms

• cordage

Derived terms

• galley downhaul

Translations

rope used to haul down sail or spar

• Finnish: neerhaalari (fi), alasvetäjä
• Italian: alabbasso m

Anagrams

• haul down