knot
Examples of common knots.
(credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)
In cording, the interlacement of parts of one or more ropes, cords, or other pliable materials, commonly used to bind objects together. Knots have existed from the time humans first used vines and cordlike fibers to bind stone heads to wood in primitive axes, and were also used in the making of nets and traps. Knot making became sophisticated when it began to be used in the ropes, or rigging, that controlled the sails of early sailing vessels, and thus became the province of sailors. Knots are still depended on by campers and hikers, mountaineers, fishermen, and weavers, among others.
knot11. a protuberance or lump of plant tissues, such as that occurring on the trunks of certain trees
2. a. Pathol a lump of vessels or fibres formed in a part, as in a muscle
b. Anatomy a protuberance on an organ or part
3. a unit of speed used by nautical vessels and aircraft, being one nautical mile (about 1.15 statute miles or 1.85 km) per hour
4. one of a number of equally spaced knots on a log line used to indicate the speed of a ship in nautical miles per hour
knot2 a small northern sandpiper, Calidris canutus, with a short bill and grey plumage
knot [
nät]
(materials)
A scar on lumber marking a place where a branch grew out of the tree truck.
(mathematics)
In the general case, a knot consists of an embedding of ann-dimensional sphere in an (n + 2)-dimensional sphere; classically, it is an interlaced closed curve, homeomorphic to a circle.
(organic chemistry)
A chiral structure in which rings containing 50 or more members have a knotlike configuration.
(physics)
A speed unit of 1 nautical mile (1.852 kilometers) per hour, equal to approximately 0.51444 meters per second.
knot
1. In medieval architecture, a bunch of leaves, flowers, or similar ornament, as the bosses at the intersections of ribs, and bunches of foliage in capitals.
2. An ornamental design resembling cords which are interlaced.
3. The hard, cross-grained mass of wood formed in a trunk at the place where a branch joins the trunk.
4. In fabric construction, the presence of an imperfection that will cause a surface irregularity.
Knot in navigation, a unit used to define the speed of a vessel. One knot is equal to 1 nautical mile per hr, 1.852 km per hr, or 0.5144 m per sec. The term “knot” originated in the days of sailing fleets, when a ship’s speed was determined by how quickly a log line played out from a log reel. The log line was divided into segments of 50 feet 8 inches (1/120 of a nautical mile), and the segments were marked by knots in the line. The rate at which the line unreeled was measured for 30 seconds (1/120 of an hour). The number of knots (segments) unreeled in 30 seconds corresponded to the ship’s speed in nautical miles per hour, that is, in knots.
Knot a temporary connection made between two ropes or between a rope and some object. Knots are tied in such a way that they become more secure as tension on the rope increases. The loops of a knot loose their grip when tension on the rope is decreased, which makes it easier to untie the knot. Different types of knots are used for different purposes, for example, to tie together two ropes of the same or different thickness, to fasten ropes to moorings, or to hoist long, smooth objects.
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