Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small anchor, especially one made of a stone in a wooden frame.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See killock.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small anchor.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

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  • Kate and I cracked our clams on the gunwale of the boat, and cut them into nice little bits for bait with a piece of the shell, and by the time the captain had thrown out the killick we were ready to begin, and found the fishing much more exciting than it had been at the wharf.

    --Sarah Orne Jewett, 1877, Deephaven

    January 28, 2010

  • There is another meaning for the word.In the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Canadian Navies it is the slang term for the Leading Seaman. The term almost certainly originates from the fact that in those navies, and others descended from the RN the rank badge for a Leading Seaman was an Anchor,

    "When the Killick is happy, we can secure for the day"

    August 10, 2013