bitts en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English, probably of Low German or North Germanic origin, and the English form a corruption or contraction, from Old Norse biti, probably ultimately from a variant of Proto-Germanic *bitiz. Compare Swedish beting and Danish beding.
Meanings
- (plural, plural-only) A frame composed of two strong oak timbers (bitt-heads) fixed vertically in the fore part of a ship, bolted to the deck beams to which are secured the cables when the ship rides to anchor
Deriveds
windlass-bitts · gallows-bitts · bitter end · topsail-sheet bitts · fore-brace bitts · bitt-heads · carrick-bitts · bitt-stopper · paul-bitts · riding-bitts · bitt-pins · jear-bitts · pawl-bitts · bitter · bitt the cable · winch-bitts