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Glite Dictionary
🏠 A roof support 🚢 A cargo support
kingpost

kingpost

9.5
A strong vertical post on a ship or dock that holds equipment for lifting cargo
  • noun
  • /ˈkɪŋˌpoʊst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : poste
  • The crew secured the pulleys to the kingpost to safely lift the cargo from the dock.

Examples

  • The sailor explained how the kingpost is essential for stabilizing the load during lifting operations.

  • Through the forest of cargo booms and kingposts, he could see the squatty gray-white stack of the Mackinaw.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • During the repair, we inspected the kingpost for any signs of damage from heavy use.

Synonyms

post
vskingpost
99 1.0

A long pole set upright in the ground to support or mark

is a specific vertical support used on ships or docks for cargo equipment

Surface Forms

kingpost singular
kingposts plural

Morphology

kingpost = king + post (semi-transparent) = king + post

Same compound structure as the architectural sense; the maritime/industrial meaning is specialist and not fully derivable by knowing the base words alone.

Etymology

Kingpost comes from king ('chief') and post ('pole' or 'beam'), so it means the 'chief post' on a ship or dock. This strong vertical post holds pulleys or booms for lifting heavy cargo, which is why dock and ship equipment is often fixed to a kingpost.