Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See halyard.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See halyard.

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

  • noun Alternative spelling of halyard.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a rope for raising or lowering a sail or flag

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • The halliard has a corresponding toggle and eye splice.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » What the Framers Supposedly Thought of Symbolic Expression: 2009

  • A staysail halliard parted and the sail drifted down to drag in the sea until a rush of seamen went forrard along the bowsprit to pull it in and attach a new halliard.

    Sharpe's Trafalgar Cornwell, Bernard, 1944- 2000

  • The boy, holding on to a rope, was spun into the air, screaming until another halliard whiplashed round his neck and tore his head horribly from his shoulders.

    Sharpe's Gold Cornwell, Bernard, 1944- 1981

  • Jacko was found guilty of these two charges by the steward and helmsman, (whose pipe Jacko had also committed to the waters of the Scaggerack,) and ordered to the mast-head; and there he remained for three hours sitting close to the jaws of the gaff, and chattering, without cessation, his annoyances to the gaff halliard blocks.

    A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden 2nd edition William A. Ross

  • I have wrenched it free from the halliard to hang for a wisp on the

    Lyra Heroica A Book of Verse for Boys Various

  • Davy's leg between the rudder beam and the wheel post, while Johnny lay sprawling on the deck, holding on like grim death to a stray end of the mizzen-halliard that had been cast loose from the cleats.

    Picked up at Sea The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek

  • The ebb caught the boat and hurried her quietly out into the stream; Focquet was heaving on a halliard forward and the heavy nut-brown sail crept slowly up the mast.

    Pied Piper Shute, Nevil, 1899-1960 1942

  • He swung upon the halliard to tighten the luff; then she laid the boat off on her course towards the Solent, slacked sheet and runner, and settled down at the helm.

    What Happened to the Corbetts Shute, Nevil, 1899-1960 1939

  • He swung upon the halliard to tighten the luff; then she laid the boat off on her course towards the Solent, slacked sheet and runner, and settled down at the helm.

    What Happened to the Corbetts Shute, Nevil, 1899-1960 1939

  • He hitched the slack of the halliard to the bridge rail and puckered his eyes, staring across the waters of the harbour to where the roofs of houses showed among the trees.

    A Tall Ship On Other Naval Occasions 1886-1967 Bartimeus 1926

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  • "'Boat your oars,' said Jack. 'Clap on to the halliard — no, the halliard. God's death — haul away. Bear a hand, Stephen. Belay. Catch a couple of turns round the kevel — the kevel.'

    "The scow gave a violent lurch. Jack dropped all, scrambled forward, caught two turns round the kevel and slid back to the tiller. The sail filled, he brought the wind a little abaft the beam, and the scow headed out to sea.

    "'You are cursed snappish tonight, Jack,' said Stephen. 'How do you expect me to understand your altumal cant, without pondering on it? I do not expect you to understand medical jargon, without giving you time to consider the etymology, for all love.'

    "'Not to know the odds between a halliard and a sheet, after all these years at sea: it passes human understanding,' said Jack."

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Fortune of War, p. 272

    February 6, 2008