square knot
1
3.9
- noun
- /skwɛr nɑt/
- Specialized
:
nudo cuadrado
- Growing up, my only exposure to military culture was my dad, who served in the Navy for two years, trying to teach me the difference between a square knot and a granny knot.
- tie a square knot
Examples
-
She taught the square knot, the bowline, and the half hitch to her agreeable but slightly bored scouts, while a girl in each patrol followed Ruth's instructions, then passed the rope on.
Fiction book (2002) -
He put five square knots around the edge of an artery that wasn't a heck of a lot bigger than a broom straw.
Fiction book (1994) -
What is this, like a square knot?
-
I guess you make a square knot.
-
All tied with the same square knot... used by anybody who works with livestock.
-
He always wore ties of knitted wool with square knots, usually of light gray color and sometimes a sort of bloody black.
Fiction book (1990) -
To secure the two pieces of rope together, make sure to tie a sturdy square knot.
-
He learned to tie a square knot during the sailing lessons.
-
The instructor explained that a square knot is essential for joining two ropes securely.
Synonyms
95
1.0
A fastening made by tying rope or string to hold things together
A simple tie that joins two ropes securely, often used in sailing and wrapping packages
A way of tying two rope ends by crossing them left then right to hold bandages or sails
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'square' (square-shaped) with 'knot' (a fastening): it refers to a specific type of knot characterized by a roughly square form used to join ends of rope. This is a descriptive, compositional compound common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer its basic meaning (even if the precise tying technique is specialist knowledge).
Etymology
Square knot gets its name from the neat, flat shape the tied ropes make: the two ends lie opposite each other and form a small square. Because the knot lies flat and holds two ends evenly, it became a common way 'to join two ropes or pieces of string'.