Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Rope from 2 to 3 inches in circumference, made with great care from selected material, and used for harpoon-lines in the whale-fishery.
Etymologies
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Examples
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In length, the common sperm whale-line measures something over two hundred fathoms.
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With reference to the whaling scene shortly to be described, as well as for the better understanding of all similar scenes elsewhere presented, I have here to speak of the magical, sometimes horrible whale-line.
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Do you suppose that that poor fellow there, who this moment perhaps caught by the whale-line off the coast of
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The whale-line is only two thirds of an inch in thickness.
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Thus the whale-line folds the whole boat in its complicated coils, twisting and writhing around it in almost every direction.
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The captain, after securing the end of the severed whale-line, attached it to the line in the third officer's boat, and then told me to get into the stoven boat, and remain by the whale, while he carried the rescued crew to the ship.
The Junior Classics — Volume 8 Animal and Nature Stories William Patten 1902
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I looked round for a knife to cut the whale-line, but could not find one.
The Junior Classics — Volume 8 Animal and Nature Stories William Patten 1902
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After waiting a few moments, I ventured to crawl forward on the thwarts, and found the whale-line was still attached to the bow.
The Junior Classics — Volume 8 Animal and Nature Stories William Patten 1902
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The injured animal plunged madly forward, accompanied by his fellows, while Louis calmly bent another iron to a "short warp," or piece of whale-line, the loose end of which he made a bowline with around the main line which was fast to the "fish."
The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales Frank T. Bullen 1886
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My arms must have been nearly torn from their sockets, for the strands of the whale-line had cut deep into their flesh with the strain upon it, while my thigh was swollen enormously from the blow I received at the onset.
The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales Frank T. Bullen 1886
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