List of knot terminology

{{Short description|None}} This page explains commonly used terms related to knots.

== B ==

=== Bend === {{main|Bend (knot)}} A bend is a knot used to join two lengths of rope.

=== Bight === [[File:Overhand-loop-ABOK-1046.jpg|thumb|When an overhand knot is tied ''with a bight'' instead of an end of the rope, the result is an overhand loop]] {{main|Bight (knot)}} A bight is a slack part in the middle of a rope, usually a curve or loop.<ref name="ABoK">{{cite book |first=Clifford W. |last=Ashley |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |date=1993 |orig-year=reprinted, first printing 1944 |pages=11–20, 219, 597–599 |isbn=0-385-04025-3}} "Any slack part of a rope between the two ends, particularly when curved or looped."</ref><ref name="Ojai">{{cite web|url=http://www.ojaisar.org/knots.htm|title=Rope and Knot Terminology|work=Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team|publisher=Ventura Country Sheriff's Department|access-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> 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 === {{see also|List of binding knots}} 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 to be properly called a knot.<ref name="ABoK" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasbla.org/viewdocument/boat-crew-seamanship-manual-comdti|title = Boat Crew Seamanship Manual, COMDTINST M16114.5C, September 2003 - NASBLA}}</ref> In its original meaning, and still today in strict nautical meaning, the bitter end was the '''opposite''' end of a rope or cable, from the working end, and not the same. The name comes from the "bitts" or "cable bitts", which were fixtures comprising a pair of strongly fixed posts used on wooden sailing ships to attach the inboard end of the anchor cable.<ref>https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095509164{{Dead link | date=October 2025 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The outboard end of a rope or cable, on the contrary, is the "working end". The phrase "to reach the bitter end" is a metaphor for reaching the end of the anchor cable; paying it out until there is no more left.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Nautical terms and everyday phrases {{!}} National Maritime Museum | url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/nautical-origins-everyday-phrases | access-date=2025-09-19 | website=www.rmg.co.uk}}</ref>

== C ==

=== Capsizing === {{main|Knot#Capsizing}} [[File:Knoten Kreuzknoten.jpg|thumb|The reef knot can capsize if one of its standing ends is pulled.]] 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<ref name="CBoK">{{cite book|last=Budworth|first=Geoffrey|title=The Complete Book of Knots|publisher=The Lyons Press|date=July 1, 1997|edition=1|pages=156–157|isbn=1-55821-632-4}}</ref>) or to untie a seized knot which would otherwise be difficult to release (see reef knot).

=== Chirality === {{main|Chirality (mathematics)}} Chirality is the 'handedness' of a knot. Topologically speaking, a knot and its mirror image may or may not have knot equivalence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanfordesp.org/media/uploaded/10_04/M916_Basic_Knot_Theory_Terminology.pdf|title=Basic Knot Theory Terminology|work=Stanford ESP|access-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328024042/http://www.stanfordesp.org/media/uploaded/10_04/M916_Basic_Knot_Theory_Terminology.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== D ==

=== Decorative knot === [[File:Turks-head-3-lead-10-bight-doubled.jpg|thumb|Although primarily tied for decorative purposes, the Turk's head knot can serve as a hand grip when tied around a cylindrical object.<ref name="Owen" />]] {{main|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.<ref name="Owen">{{cite book|last=Owen|first=Peter|title=The Book of Decorative Knots|publisher=The Lyons Press|location=Guilford, Connecticut|year=1994|isbn=1-55821-304-X }}</ref> Decorative knotting is one of the oldest and most widely distributed types of folk art.<ref name="Owen" />

=== 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.<ref name="climbing">{{cite book|last=Kidd|first=Timothy W.|author2=Jennifer Hazelrigs|title=Rock Climbing|publisher=Human Kinetics|location=Champaign, Illinois|year=2009|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rockclimbingoutd00wild/page/126 126–127]|isbn=978-0-7360-6802-4|url=https://archive.org/details/rockclimbingoutd00wild/page/126}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="TKH">{{cite book|last=Costantino|first=Maria|title=The Knot Handbook|publisher=Sterling|date=March 1, 2007|pages=252–254|isbn=978-1-4027-4804-2}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="ABoK" />

"Flaking" or "Faking" also means to lay a rope on a surface ready to use or to run out quickly without tangles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animatedknots.com/fig8flake/index.php|title=Figure 8 Flake - Coiling Rope Using the Figure 8 Flake - Knots|first=Alan W. Grogono (Grog), David E. Grogono, Martin J.|last=Grogono|website=www.animatedknots.com}}</ref> thumb|Figure-8 flake

=== Fraps === Fraps or "frapping turns" are a set of loops coiled perpendicularly around the wraps of a lashing as a means of tightening.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rk19-bielefeld-mitte.de/survival/FM/g.htm|title=U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-05.70 - Ropes and Knots|date=May 2002|publisher=Headquarters, Department of the Army|access-date=23 July 2011}}</ref>[[File:Stopperstek.jpg|thumb|The rolling hitch is a common type of friction hitch.]]

=== Friction hitch === {{main|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Adams|first=Mark|date=April 2005|title=A Genealogy of Arborists' Climbing Hitches|journal=Arborist News|url=http://www.treebuzz.com/pdf/0505_geneology.pdf}}</ref> They are often used in climbing applications.

== H ==

=== Hitch === {{Main|Hitch (knot)}} 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Budworth|first=Geoffrey|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots|publisher=Lyons Press|date=September 1, 2002|pages=157|isbn=1-58574-626-6}}</ref>

== J ==

=== Jamming ===  A '''jamming knot''' is any knot that becomes very difficult to untie after use.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Partridge|first=William E.|year=1908|title=The Knots in Common Use|journal=Yachting|volume=3|pages=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zQcAQAAMAAJ&q=knot+jam&pg=PA97}}</ref> Knots that are resistant to jamming are called ''non-jamming knots''. Jamming knots include #1230, #1727, and #1994 in ''The Ashley Book of Knots''.

== L == [[File:Tripodlashing3.gif|thumb|A tripod lashing]]

=== Lashing === {{main|Lashing (ropework)}}

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 poles and the securing of sailing masts.<ref name="KSRC">{{cite book|title=Knotting And Splicing Ropes And Cordage|editor=Hasluck, Paul N.|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC|date=October 15, 2009|pages=130|isbn=978-1-120-30885-6}}</ref><ref name="AoR">{{cite book|last=Biddlecombe|first=George|title=The Art of Rigging|location=Mineola, New York|year=1990|edition=1|pages=19|isbn=0-486-26343-6}}</ref> The square lashing, diagonal lashing, and shear lashing are well-known lashings used to bind poles perpendicularly, diagonally, and in parallel, respectively.<ref name="Knotcraft">{{cite book|last=Macfarlan|first=Allan and Paulette |title=Knotcraft: The Practical and Entertaining Art of Tying Knots|publisher=Dover Publications|date=September 1, 1983|isbn=0-486-24515-2}}</ref>

=== Loop ===  thumb|A: open loop, B: closed loop, C: turn, D: round turn, and E: two round turns 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.<ref>Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots''. Image 31, 32.</ref> * 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''.<ref name="ABoK" />

=== Loop knot === [[File:FigureOfEightLoop.jpg|thumb|The figure-eight loop is a common loop knot.]] {{see also|Category:Loop knots}} 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.<ref name="ABoK" />

A loop can be formed by tying "in the bight" or otherwise. An example is the figure-eight loop knot, which can be tied in the bight, by tying a figure-eight knot 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 figure-eight knot, 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 ===  {{main|Noose}} A noose can refer to any sliding loop in which the loop tightens when pulled.<ref name="CBoK" />

== O ==

=== Open loop === An open loop is a curve in a rope that resembles a semicircle 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.<ref name="ABoK" />

== S == [[File:Forestay-Eye-Round-seizings-Bulls-eye.jpg|thumb|The eye of a forestay is secured by three round seizings]]

=== Seizing === {{main|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.<ref name="TSH">{{cite book|last=Merry|first=Barbara|author2=Martin Dugard |title=The Splicing Handbook: Techniques for Modern and Traditional Ropes|publisher=International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press|date=February 16, 2000|edition=2|pages=113|isbn=978-0-07-135438-7}}</ref>

=== Setting === Setting a knot is the process of tightening it. Improper setting can cause certain knots to underperform.<ref name="climbing" />

=== Slipped knot === [[File:Buntline-hitches-header.jpg|thumb|The slipped form of the buntline hitch (on the right) can easily be untied by pulling the hanging end and withdrawing the loop.]] 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.<ref name="ABoK" /> A slip knot is just one variety of slipped knot.

=== Small-stuff ===  {{anchor|Small stuff}} {{hatnote|For the song "Small Stuff" by The Dismemberment Plan, see the entry called '''" ! "'''. For the song "Small Stuff" by Alabama, see Small Stuff (song).}}

'''Small-stuff''' is a nautical and knot-tying term for thin string or twine, as opposed to the thick, heavy ropes that are more often used in sailing. It is commonly used in a whipping to bind the ends of ropes to prevent fraying.

Historically, the term referred to cordage less than one inch in circumference.<ref name="ashley225">Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots'' (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 603.</ref> Much of the small-stuff on board ships, especially that used for decorative or fancy ropework, was made by the sailors themselves reusing materials unlaid from old and leftover pieces of larger rope and cable.<ref>Ashley, 549.</ref>

=== Spilling === {{main|#Capsizing}}

=== Splice === {{main|Rope splicing}} Splicing is a method of joining two ropes done by untwisting and then re-weaving the rope's strands.<ref name="TAotS">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Hervey G.|title=The Arts of the Sailor: Knotting, Splicing and Ropework|publisher=Dover Publications|date=September 1, 1990|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780486264400/page/2 2]|isbn=0-486-26440-8|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780486264400/page/2}}</ref>

=== Standing end === The standing end (or standing part) of a rope is the part that is not active in knot tying.<ref name="ABoK" /> The opposite end is the working end.<ref name="CBoK" />

=== Stopper knot === A stopper knot is the type of knot tied to prevent a rope from slipping through a grommet.<ref name="HBTW">{{cite book|last=Wing|first=Charlie|title=How Boat Things Work: An Illustrated Guide|publisher=McGraw-Hill|date=May 2007|pages=97|isbn=978-0-07-149344-4}}</ref> The overhand knot is the simplest single-strand stopper knot.<ref name="ABoK" />

== T == ===Turn=== {{main|Turn (knot)}}

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

== W ==

=== Whipping === {{main|Whipping knot}} A whipping is a binding knot tied around the end of a rope to prevent the rope from unraveling.<ref name="TSH" />

=== Working end === The working end (or working part) of a rope is the part active in knot tying.<ref name="ABoK" /> The opposite end is the standing end.<ref name="CBoK" />

== See also == * List of knots

== References == {{reflist|2}}