futtock shroud
- noun
- Specialized
- The crew examined the futtock shroud for signs of wear before climbing aloft.
Examples
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He replaced the old futtock shroud during the ship's annual maintenance.
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A broken futtock shroud can be dangerous for sailors working on the upper rigging.
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The futtock shroud is essential for mast stability.
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He inspected the futtock shrouds before the voyage.
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The crew examined the futtock shroud for signs of wear before climbing aloft.
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He replaced the old futtock shroud during the ship's annual maintenance.
-
A broken futtock shroud can be dangerous for sailors working on the upper rigging.
Synonyms
A rope that holds up a parachute or a ship's mast
Surface Forms
Morphology
futtock + shroud
The phrase contains the highly specialized nautical item 'futtock', which is absent from general dictionaries and unknown to typical B1 learners; while 'shroud' (a supporting line) is more transparent, the compound’s meaning depends on the technical sense of 'futtock'. Because a learner would need specific maritime knowledge rather than general lexical composition to understand the term, the expression is not predictably derivable and is therefore opaque.
Etymology
Futtock shroud comes from old sailing ships. The word futtock meant the wooden piece under the platform and shroud meant a strong rope, so a futtock shroud is the rope that runs from the platform edge down to the lower ropes to 'support' the topmast.