Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Nautical, on men-of-war, a pair of strong frames of oak made in the form of a gallows, fixed between the fore and main hatchways, with concave cross-beams called gallows-tops tenoned on to the uprights, to support spare topmasts, yards, booms, boats, etc. Also called gallows, gallows-frame, gallows-stanchions.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word gallows-bitts.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
chained_bear commented on the word gallows-bitts
"The tail man had barely time to whip a turn round the gallows-bitts before the stout line was twanging taut, the hook well home, and the shark threshing madly under the starboard quarter..."
--Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World, 130
A Sea of Words: A wooden frame used by fishing boats under sail to rest their masts on when they stopped to work their nets. (209)
February 20, 2008