Hawse
/hɔːz/noun
The part of a ship's bow where the anchor cables pass through the hawseholes.
Did you know?The word is tied to the same old Germanic family as “throat,” because sailors imagined the front of the ship as a neck or passage for the anchor cable.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*thurh-
“through, by way of”
Old English
OE
hals
“neck, throat”
Middle English
ME
halse
“neck; also the bow of a ship near the hawseholes”
Early Modern English
English
hawse
“the part of a ship's bow where the anchor cables pass”
Modern English
English
hawse
“the opening or passage in a ship's bow for anchor cables”