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  1. davit love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Any of various types of small cranes that project over the side of a ship and are used to hoist boats, anchors, and cargo.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Nautical, one of a pair of projecting pieces of wood or iron on the side or stern of a vessel, used for suspending or lowering and hoisting a boat, by means of sheaves and pulleys. They are set so as to admit of being shipped and unshipped at pleasure, and commonly turn on their axes, so that the boat can be swung in on deck, or vice versa.

Wiktionary

  1. n. nautical A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship.
  2. n. nautical, construction a crane, often working in pairs and usually made of steel, used to lower things over an edge of a long drop off, such as lowering a maintenance trapeze down a building or launching a lifeboat over the side of a ship.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship; -- called also the fish davit.
  2. n. Curved arms of timber or iron, projecting over a ship's side of stern, having tackle to raise or lower a boat, swing it in on deck, rig it out for lowering, etc.; -- called also boat davits.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a crane-like device (usually one of a pair) for suspending or lowering equipment (as a lifeboat)

Etymologies

  1. Middle English daviot, from Norman French daviot, diminutive of Davi, David. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (2)

Words with the same meaning

  1. crane
  1. fish davit

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. crane

same context (24)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. davits
  2. trackway
  3. carronade
  4. spy-ray
  1. power-operated
  2. port-side
  3. Waldo
  4. electric-light
  1. horse-collar
  2. holdback
  3. next-to-last
  4. haulage
  1. luff
  2. one-ton
  3. two-block
  4. hoist
  1. two-footed
  2. rugger
  3. highest-paid
  4. free-agent
  1. towing
  2. hand-operated
  3. bootlace
  4. electrometer

reverse dictionary (13)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. hatch-davit
  2. David
  1. Davie
  2. davit
  1. purse-davit
  2. pursing-block
  1. span-shackle
  2. cat-crane
  1. fish davit
  2. fish fall
  1. half-davit
  2. span shackle
  1. gooseneck

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  • knitandpurl "He peered into the mirror, improving himself, unaware of me as he worked in the half-shadow of the lifeboat which hung from the davit."
    "The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje, in the May 16, 2011 issue of The New Yorker, p 111 May 23, 2011

  • trivet (a) A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship; -- called also the fish davit.

    (b) pl. Curved arms of timber or iron, projecting over a ship's side of stern, having tackle to raise or lower a boat, swing it in on deck, rig it out for lowering, etc.; -- called also boat davits.

    (Cf. F. davier forceps, cooper's instrument, G. david davit; all probably from the proper name David.)

    - Webster 1913 Jul 9, 2007

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‘davit’ has been looked up 3289 times, added to 20 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.