knot

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by Equinox (talk | contribs) as of 22:30, 11 January 2020.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: knöt

English

Lua error in Module:interproject at line 59: Parameter "dab" is not used by this template.

A knot.
A mathematical knot.

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, 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 node.

Noun

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.
    • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      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.
    • (Can we date this quote by South and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      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.
    • (Can we date this quote by Tennyson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      With lips serenely placid, felt the knot / Climb in her throat.
  10. the swelling of the bulbus glandis in members of the dog family; Canidae
  11. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
    the knot of the tale
  12. (engineering) A node.
  13. A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
  14. A group of people or things.
    • (Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      his ancient knot of dangerous adversaries
    • (Can we date this quote by Sir Walter Scott and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      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.
  15. A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
    • (Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      with nuptial knot
    • (Can we date this quote by Bishop Hall and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed
  16. (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 1/120th of a mile.)
    Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
  17. (nautical) A nautical mile
  18. (slang) The bulbus glandis
  19. (fandom slang) In omegaverse fan fiction, a bulbus glandis-like structure on the penis of a male alpha, which ties him to an omega during intercourse.
    • 2014, Mark Shrayber, "'Knotting' Is the Weird Fanfic Sex Trend That Cannot Be Unseen", Jezebel, 18 July 2014:
      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.
Related terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

Lua error in Module:en-headword at line 1152: Legacy parameter 1=STEM no longer supported, just use 'en-verb' without params

  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.
    • (Can we date this quote by Tennyson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      as tight as I could knot the noose
  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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  4. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
  5. (intransitive) To form knots.
  6. (intransitive) To knit knots for a fringe.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

See also

Template:mid2

Etymology 2

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

knot (plural knots or knot)

  1. One of a variety of shore birds; the red-breasted sandpiper (variously Calidris canutus or Lua error in Module:taxlink at line 68: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template.).
    • 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 […]
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Lua error in Module:cs-headword at line 144: Unrecognized gender: 'm'

  1. A candle wick

Declension

Template:cs-decl-noun

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

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
Related terms

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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

  1. The bird species Calidris canutus (syn. Lua error in Module:taxlink at line 68: Parameter "ver" is not used by this template.)
Synonyms

Anagrams

Middle English

Noun

knot

  1. Alternative form of knotte

Polish

Pronunciation

Noun

knot m inan

  1. A wick (as of a candle)

Declension

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
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=knot&oldid=58369032"