This page explains commonly used terms related to

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

B

Bend

A bend is a knot used to join two lengths of rope.

Bight

A bight is a slack part in the middle of a rope, usually a curve or loop. "Any slack part of a rope between the two ends, particularly when curved or looped." Knots that can be tied without access to either end of the rope are called knots ''in the bight''. To tie a knot ''with a bight'' is to double up the rope into a bight and then tie the knot using the double rope.

Binding knot

Binding knots are knots that either constrict a single object or hold two objects snugly together. Whippings, seizings and lashings serve a similar purpose to binding knots, but contain too many

wraps A wrap is a culinary dish made with a soft flatbread rolled around a filling. The usual flatbreads are wheat tortillas, lavash, or pita; the filling may include cold sliced meat, poultry, or fish, shredded lettuce, diced tomato or pico de gal ...

to be properly called a knot. In binding knots, the ends of rope are either joined together or tucked under the turns of the knot.

Bitter end

Another term for the working end.

C

Capsizing

A knot that has capsized or ''spilled'' has deformed into a different structure. Although capsizing is sometimes the result of incorrect tying or misuse, it can also be done purposefully in certain cases to strengthen the knot (see the

carrick bend The Carrick bend, also known as the Sailor's breastplate, is a knot used for joining two lines. It is particularly appropriate for very heavy rope or cable that is too large and stiff to be easily formed into other common bends.Geoffrey Budworth, ...

) or to untie a seized knot which would otherwise be difficult to release (see

reef knot The reef knot, or square knot, is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is sometimes also referred to as a Hercules knot or Heracles knot. The knot is formed by tying a left-handed overhand knot ...

Chirality

Chirality is the 'handedness' of a knot.

Topologically Topology (from the Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without ...

speaking, a knot and its mirror image may or may not have

knot equivalence In topology, knot theory is the study of mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are joined so it cannot be undone, the simplest kn ...

D

Decorative knot

A decorative knot is any aesthetically pleasing knot. Although it is not necessarily the case, most decorative knots also have practical applications or were derived from other well-known knots. Decorative knotting is one of the oldest and most widely distributed types of

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

Dressing

Knot dressing is the process of arranging a knot in such a way as to improve its performance. Crossing or uncrossing the rope in a specific way, depending on the knot, can increase the knot's strength as well as reduce its jamming potential.

E

Elbow

An elbow refers to any two nearby crossings of a rope. An elbow is created when an additional twist is made in a loop.

Eye

The ''eye'' is in fact what is often (in error) referred to as a ''loop''. The eye functions in the same way as an ''eye bolt'' or an ''eye splice''. The eye provides a means to form connections. The eye of a knot (or a splice) is ''fixed'' and does not slip. If it slipped, it would not function as an eye - it would act like a ''noose''.

F

Flake

A flake refers to any number of turns in a coiled rope. Likewise, to flake a rope means to coil it. "Flaking" or "Faking" also means to lay a rope on a surface ready to use or to run out quickly without tangles. KelebekSarmali 1

Fraps

Fraps or "frapping turns" are a set of loops coiled perpendicularly around the

of a lashing as a means of tightening. Stopperstek

Friction hitch

A friction hitch is a knot that attaches one rope to another in a way that allows the knot's position to easily be adjusted. Sometimes friction hitches are called slide-and-grip knots. They are often used in

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

applications.

H

Hitch

A hitch is a knot that attaches a rope to some object, often a ring, rail, spar, post, or perhaps another rope, as in the case of the

rolling hitch The rolling hitch is a knot (see also Magnus hitch) used to attach a rope to a rod, pole, or another rope. A simple friction hitch, it is used for lengthwise pull along an object rather than at right angles. The rolling hitch is designed to re ...

J

Jamming

A jamming knot is any knot that becomes very difficult to untie after use. Knots that are resistant to jamming are called ''non-jamming knots''.

L

Lashing

A lashing is an arrangement of rope used to secure two or more items together in a rigid manner. Common uses include the joining of

scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...

poles and the securing of sailing masts. The square lashing, diagonal lashing, and shear lashing are well-known lashings used to bind poles perpendicularly, diagonally, and in parallel, respectively.

Loop

In reference to knots, loop may refer to: * One of the fundamental structures used to tie knots. Specifically, it is a U-form narrower than a bight. * A type of knot used to create a closed circle in a line. A loop is one of the fundamental structures used to tie knots. It is a full circle formed by passing the working end of a rope over itself. When the legs of a ''closed loop'' are crossed to form a loop, the rope has ''taken a

turn To turn is to rotate, either continuously like a wheel turns on its axle, or in a finite motion changing an object's orientation. Turn may also refer to: Sports and games * Turn (game), a segment of a game * Turn (poker), the fourth of five co ...

''.

Loop knot

A loop knot is a type of knot that creates a fixed loop on the rope, where "fixed" means that pulling on the rope does not cause the loop to slide or shrink. In contrast to a hitch, the loop formed by a loop knot maintains its structure regardless of whether or not the loop is around an object. A loop can be formed by tying " in the bight" or otherwise. An example is the

figure-eight loop Figure-eight loop (also figure-eight on a bight, figure-eight follow-through, figure-eight retrace, Flemish loop, or Flemish eight) is a type of knot created by a loop on the bight. It is used in climbing and caving. The double figure eight ...

knot, which can be tied in the bight, by tying a

figure-eight knot The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in sailing, rock climbing and caving as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under ...

using a bight instead of the end of the rope. However, tying the knot this way does not allow putting the loop around a fixed object like a tree; to do that, the knot must be tied in a two-stage process by first tying a

, running the end of the rope around the fixed object, and then threading the rope back through and around the figure-8 knot to create the final figure-8 loop knot.

N

Noose

A noose can refer to any sliding loop in which the loop tightens when pulled.

O

Open loop

An open loop is a curve in a rope that resembles a

semicircle In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional locus of points that forms half of a circle. It is a circular arc that measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a half-turn). It only has one line of symmetr ...

in which the legs are not touching or crossed. The legs of an open loop are brought together narrower than they are in a bight.

S

Seizing

A seizing is a knot that binds two pieces of rope together side by side, normally in order to create a loop. The structure of seizings is similar to that of lashings.

Setting

Setting a knot is the process of tightening it. Improper setting can cause certain knots to underperform.

Slipped knot

A slipped knot is any knot that unties when an end is pulled. Thus, tying the slipped form of a knot makes it easier to untie, especially when the knot is prone to jamming. A

slip knot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slippe ...

is just one variety of slipped knot.

Small-stuff

Small-stuff is a

nautical Seamanship is the art, competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topic ...

and knot-tying term for thin

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

twine Twine is a strong Thread (yarn), thread, light String (structure), string or cord composed of string in which two or more thinner strands are twisted, and then twisted together (Plying, plied). The strands are plied in the opposite direction to ...

, as opposed to the thick, heavy

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

s that are more often used in sailing. It is commonly used in a

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

to bind the ends of ropes to prevent fraying. Historically, the term referred to cordage less than one inch in

circumference In geometry, the circumference () is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. The circumference is the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to a line segment. More generally, the perimeter is the curve length arou ...

.Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots'' (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 603. Much of the small-stuff on board ships, especially that used for decorative or fancy

ropework Ropework or marlinespike seamanship are umbrella terms for a skillset spanning the use, maintenance, and repair of rope. Ropework is used by seafarers, climbers and military personnel. Included are tying knots, splicing, making lashings, whippi ...

, was made by the

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s themselves reusing materials unlaid from old and leftover pieces of larger rope and cable.Ashley, 549.

Spilling

Splice

Splicing is a method of joining two ropes done by untwisting and then re-weaving the rope's strands.

Standing end

The standing end (or standing part) of a rope is the part that is not active in knot tying. The opposite end is the working end.

Stopper knot

A stopper knot is the type of knot tied to prevent a rope from slipping through a

grommet Curtain grommets, used among others in shower curtains A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are ...

. The

overhand knot The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots, and it forms the basis of many others, including the simple noose, overhand loop, angler's loop, reef knot, fisherman's knot, half hitch, and water knot. The overhand knot is a stoppe ...

is the simplest single-strand stopper knot.

T

Turn

is one round of rope on a pin or cleat, or one round of a coil.

W

Whipping

A whipping is a binding knot tied around the end of a rope to prevent the rope from unraveling.

Working end

The working end (or working part) of a rope is the part active in knot tying. The opposite end is the standing end.

References

{{Knots K

B