knot

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See also: knöt and knôt

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A knot.
A mathematical knot.

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); (cognate with Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte); compare also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Faroese knútur, Icelandic hnútur). Probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”), compare Latin nōdus and its Romance descendants. Doublet of knout, node, and nodus.

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.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      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.
    • 1664, Robert South, A Sermon Preached Before the University at Christ-Church, Oxon:
      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 tightened and contracted part of a muscle that feels like a hard lump under the skin.
  9. A protuberant joint in a plant.
  10. Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
  11. The swelling of the bulbus glandis in members of the dog family, Canidae.
  12. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
    the knot of the tale
  13. (engineering) A node.
  14. A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
  15. A group of people or things.
    • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
      his ancient knot of dangerous adversarie
    • 1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:
      As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.
    • 1859, Henry David Thoreau, A Plea for Captain John Brown‎[1]:
      When, for instance, he saw a knot of the ruffians on the prairie, discussing, of course, the single topic which then occupied their minds, he would, perhaps, take his compass and one of his sons, and proceed to run an imaginary line right through the very spot on which that conclave had assembled, and when he came up to them, he would naturally pause and have some talk with them, learning their news, and, at last, all their plans perfectly; and having thus completed his real survey he would resume his imaginary one, and run on his line till he was out of sight.
    • 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.
  16. A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
  17. (aviation, nautical) A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour. (From the practice of counting the number of knots in the log-line (as it is paid out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every 1⁄120 of a mile.)
    Synonyms: kn, kt
    Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
  18. (aviation) A unit of indicated airspeed, calibrated airspeed, or equivalent airspeed, which varies in its relation to the unit of speed so as to compensate for the effects of different ambient atmospheric conditions on aircraft performance.
    In the early stages of reentry, due to the extremely-rarefied air at these altitudes, the space shuttle flew at only one to a few knots equivalent airspeed, even when its actual speed was many thousands of knots.
  19. (nautical) A nautical mile.
    Synonym: nm
  20. (slang) The bulbus glandis.
  21. (fandom slang) In omegaverse fiction, a bulbus glandis-like structure on the penis of a male alpha, which ties him to an omega during intercourse.
    • 2014 July 18, Mark Shrayber, “'Knotting' Is the Weird Fanfic Sex Trend That Cannot Be Unseen”, in Jezebel:
      Since the knot won't release until the alpha has finished and can't be controlled by either party, the sex has to go on until it's done.
    • 2017, Taylor Boulware, "Fascination/Frustration: Slash Fandom, Genre, and Queer Uptake", dissertation submitted to the University of Washington, page 155:
      The pair cannot separate until the knot has subsided – anywhere from twenty minutes to hours, depending on the fic.
    • 2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega? Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of Oslo, page 89:
      When John bites down on Sherlock's neck as his knot locks them together, the act which would otherwise be a tool for domination only reinforces the existing emotional bonds they have for each other.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:knot.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

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

  1. (transitive) To form into a knot; to tie with a knot or knots.
    We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
    • 1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 56:
      For many weeks about my loins I wore / The rope that haled the buckets from the well, / Twisted as tight as I could knot the noose, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / Until the ulcer, eating through my skin, / Betray'd my secret penance, so that all / My brethren marvell'd greatly.
  2. (transitive) 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.
    • a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a VVarre vvith Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:
      The party of the papists in England are become more knotted, both in dependence towards Spain, and amongst themselves.
  4. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
  5. (intransitive) To form knots.
  6. (intransitive) To knit knots for a fringe.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

knot (plural knots or knot)

  1. One of a variety of shore birds; red-breasted sandpiper (variously Calidris canutus or Tringa canutus).
    • c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist:
      My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

knot m inan

  1. a candle wick

Declension[edit]

Declension of knot (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative knot knoty
genitive knotu knotů
dative knotu knotům
accusative knot knoty
vocative knote knoty
locative knotu, knotě knotech
instrumental knotem knoty

Further reading[edit]

  • knot in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • knot in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch cnudde, Old Dutch *knotto, from Proto-Germanic *knuttan-, *knuttô.

Related to knod, English knot, West Frisian knotte, Middle High German Knotze, German Knoten, Danish knude, Norwegian knute, Swedish knut, etc.

Noun[edit]

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

  1. The bird species Calidris canutus (syn. Tringa canutis)
Synonyms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

knot

  1. Alternative form of knotte

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Middle High German knotze.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

knot m inan (diminutive knotek or knocik)

  1. wick (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

Further reading[edit]

  • knot in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • knot in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Upper Sorbian[edit]

Upper Sorbian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia hsb

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *krъtъ.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

knot m anim

  1. mole, talpid (mammal of the family Talpidae)

Further reading[edit]

  • “knot” in Soblex
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