knot

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English[edit]

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A knot.
A mathematical knot.

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old English cnotta, from Proto-Germanic *knuttan-; (cognate with Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte); compare also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Icelandic hnútur). Probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nod- (“to bind”), cf. Latin nodus and its Romance successors.

Noun[edit]

knot (plural knots)

  1. 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.
  2. (of hair, etc) A tangled clump.
    The nurse was brushing knots from the protesting child's hair.
  3. A maze-like pattern.
    • Milton
      Flowers worthy of paradise, which, not nice art / In beds and curious knots, but nature boon / Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain.
  4. (mathematics) A non-self-intersecting closed curve in (e.g., three-dimensional) space that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
    A knot can be defined as a non-self-intersecting broken line whose endpoints coincide: when such a knot is constrained to lie in a plane, then it is simply a polygon.
        A knot in its original sense can be modeled as a mathematical knot (or link) as follows: if the knot is made with a single piece of rope, then abstract the shape of that rope and then extend the working end to merge it with the standing end, yielding a mathematical knot. If the knot is attached to a metal ring, then that metal ring can be modeled as a trivial knot and the pair of knots become a link. If more than one mathematical knot (or link) can be thus obtained, then the simplest one (avoiding detours) is probably the one which one would want.
  5. A difficult situation.
    I got into a knot when I inadvertently insulted a policeman.
    • South
      A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. A protuberant joint in a plant.
  9. Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
    • Tennyson
      With lips serenely placid, felt the knot / Climb in her throat.
  10. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
    the knot of the tale
  11. (engineering) A node.
  12. A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
  13. A group of people or things.
    • Shakespeare
      his ancient knot of dangerous adversaries
    • Sir Walter Scott
      As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.
    • 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.
  14. A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
    • Shakespeare
      with nuptial knot
    • Bishop Hall
      ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

knot (third-person singular simple present knots, present participle knotting, simple past and past participle knotted)

  1. To form into a knot; to tie with a knot or knots.
    We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
    • Tennyson
      as tight as I could knot the noose
  2. 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.
  3. To unite closely; to knit together.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  4. (obsolete, rare) To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
Synonyms[edit]
  • (form into a knot): bind, tie
  • (form wrinkles in forehead): knit
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From the practice of counting the number of knots in the log-line (as it plays out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every 1/120th of a mile.

Noun[edit]

knot (plural knots)

  1. (nautical) A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.
    Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
  2. (slang) A nautical mile (incorrectly)
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Supposed to be derived from the name of King Canute, with whom the bird was a favourite article of food. See the species epithet canutus.

Noun[edit]

knot (plural knots or knot)

  1. One of a variety of shore birds; the red-breasted sandpiper (variously Calidris canutus or Tringa canutus).
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch cnudde, from Proto-Germanic *knuttan-; cognate with knod, English knot, Frisian knotte, (Middle) High German Knotze (German Knoten), Danish knude, Norwegian knute, Swedish knut, etc.

Noun[edit]

knot f, m (plural knotten, diminutive knotje n)

  1. A knot, bun (of hair), skein
  2. The top or crest (with messy branches) of certain woody plants, notably willows
  3. A flax seed box
  4. (dialect) A marble to play with
  5. A prank, joke
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From the cognate English knot, possibly influenced by Vulgar Latin canutus (“grey-headed", "grizzled”)

Noun[edit]

knot f, m (plural knotten, diminutive knotje n)

  1. The bird species Tringa canutis, Calidris canutus
Synonyms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

knot m

  1. A wick (as of a candle)

Declension[edit]

    declension of knot
singular plural
nominative knot knoty
genitive knota knotów
dative knotowi knotom
accusative knot knoty
instrumental knotem knotami
locative knocie knotach
vocative knocie knoty
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