knot
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
nautical
physical-sciences
sciences
transport
Etymology: From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”).
See also Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte; also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Faroese knútur, Icelandic hnútur; also Latin nōdus and its Romance descendants. Doublet of knout, node, and nodus.
* (unit of speed): From the practice of counting the number of knots in the logline (as it is paid out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every ¹⁄₁₂₀ of a mile.
Inflected forms:
form: knots
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: knots
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: knotting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: knotted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: knotted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
pos: noun
examples: Climbers must make sure that all knots are both secure and of types that will not weaken the rope.
The obstructive tendency attributed to the knot in spiritual matters appears in a Swiss superstition that if, in sewing a corpse into its shroud, you make a knot on the thread, it will hinder the soul of the deceased on its passage to eternity.
gloss: A tangled clump of hair or similar.
pos: noun
examples: The nurse was brushing knots from the protesting child's hair.
gloss: A maze-like pattern.
pos: noun
examples: Flowers worthy of paradise, which, not nice art / In beds and curious knots, but nature boon / Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain.
gloss: A non-self-intersecting closed curve in (e.g., three-dimensional) space that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
pos: noun
examples: A knot can be defined as a non-self-intersecting broken line whose endpoints coincide: when such a knot is constrained to lie in a plane, then it is simply a polygon.
gloss: A difficult situation.
pos: noun
examples: I got into a knot when I inadvertently insulted a policeman.
A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs.
gloss: The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree's trunk.
pos: noun
examples: When preparing to tell stories at a campfire, I like to set aside a pile of pine logs with lots of knots, since they burn brighter and make dramatic pops and cracks.
gloss: Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.
pos: noun
examples: Jeremy had a knot on his head where he had bumped it on the bedframe.
gloss: A tightened and contracted part of a muscle that feels like a hard lump under the skin.
pos: noun
gloss: A protuberant joint in a plant.
pos: noun
gloss: Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
pos: noun
examples: [T]he Queen who sat / With lips severely placid, felt the knot / Climb in her throat, […]
gloss: The swelling of the bulbus glandis in members of the dog family, Canidae.
pos: noun
gloss: The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
pos: noun
examples: the knot of the tale
gloss: A node (point at which the lines of a funicular machine meet from different angular directions)
pos: noun
gloss: A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
pos: noun
gloss: A group of people or things.
pos: noun
examples: his ancient knot of dangerous adversarie
As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.
When, for instance, he saw a knot of the ruffians on the prairie, discussing, of course, the single topic which then occupied their minds, he would, perhaps, take his compass and one of his sons, and proceed to run an imaginary line right through the very spot on which that conclave had assembled, and when he came up to them, he would naturally pause and have some talk with them, learning their news, and, at last, all their plans perfectly; and having thus completed his real survey he would resume his imaginary one, and run on his line till he was out of sight.
The garden was bounded by a three-foot brick wall with a fringe of wood rails upon the top, and against this wall was leaning a stalwart police constable, surrounded by a small knot of loafers, who craned their necks and strained their eyes in the vain hope of catching some glimpse of the proceedings within.
In the interval between Sunday School and Church when the congregation stretched its legs, I saw Atticus standing in the yard with another knot of men.
At corners, under the lights, near drugstores, small knots of white, bright, chattering people showed teeth to each other, pawed each other, whistled for taxis, were whirled away in them, vanished through the doors of drugstores or into the blackness of side streets.
1968, Bryce Walton, Harpoon Gunner, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, NY, (1968), page 20,
He pushed through knots of whalemen grouped with their families and friends, and surrounded by piles of luggage.
gloss: A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
pos: noun
examples: [I come] to crave a league of amity,
And lastly, to confirm that amity
With nuptial knot […]
[I]t were very fit, […] to observe carefully this previous betrothing of ourselves, ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed.
Indeed I would advise every ſingle lady, if poſſible, to attend her inamorato, pretty frequently at the card table; […] if he is haſty or pettiſh with any one else in company, she may depend on the ſame fate when once the knot is tied.
gloss: A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.
pos: noun
examples: Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
gloss: A unit of indicated airspeed, calibrated airspeed, or equivalent airspeed, which varies in its relation to the unit of speed so as to compensate for the effects of different ambient atmospheric conditions on aircraft performance.
pos: noun
examples: In the early stages of reentry, due to the extremely-rarefied air at these altitudes, the space shuttle flew at only one to a few knots equivalent airspeed, even when its actual speed was many thousands of knots.
gloss: A nautical mile.
pos: noun
gloss: The bulbus glandis.
pos: noun
tags: slang
gloss: To form into a knot; to tie with a knot or knots.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
For many weeks about my loins I wore / The rope that haled the buckets from the well, / Twisted as tight as I could knot the noose, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / Until the ulcer, eating through my skin, / Betray'd my secret penance, so that all / My brethren marvell'd greatly.
gloss: To form wrinkles in the forehead, as a sign of concentration, concern, surprise, etc.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: She knotted her brow in concentration while attempting to unravel the tangled strands.
gloss: To unite closely; to knit together.
pos: verb
examples: The party of the papists in England are become more knotted, both in dependence towards Spain, and amongst themselves.
gloss: To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
rare
transitive
gloss: To form knots.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To knit knots for a fringe.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
Synonyms: join
put together
flummox
Antonyms: loosen
unbind
unknot
untie
Related words: braid
bruise
hickey
knit
loop
plait
tangle
tie
weave
Derived words: Albright knot
alpine butterfly knot
alternating knot
angler's knot
arbor knot
Ashley's stopper knot
Bachmann knot
bag knot
balloon knot
Bantu knot
barrel knot
beer knot
binding knot
black knot
blood knot
bowknot
bowstring knot
breastknot
burr knot
butterfly knot
Celtic knot
Clytie knot
constrictor knot
Conway knot
cut the Gordian knot
cut the knot
cystine knot
dolly knot
double fisherman's knot
electrician's knot
endknot
English knot
Englishman's knot
equalizer knot
Euro death-knot
fat knot
Fintushel-Stern knot
fire-escape knot
fireman's chair knot
fisherman's knot
French knot
garlic knot
get knotted
get one's knickers in a knot
get one's shorts in a knot
Ghiordes knot
Gordian knot
granny knot
grapevine knot
grass knot
Grecian knot
grief knot
hair-knot
handcuff knot
hobble knot
honda knot
human knot
inknot
interknot
jufti knot
KCAS
KEAS
KIAS
kn
knotberry
knot diagram
knotful
knot garden
knotgrass
knothead
knothole
knot-horn
knot invariant
knotless
knotlike
knotoid
knotroot
knot span
knottable
knotter
knot theory
knottin
knottle
knotty
knotweed
knotwork
knotwort
kt
KTAS
lightwood-knot floater
Lissajous knot
loop-knot
love knot
manharness knot
milk knot
miller's knot
misknot
nail knot
Nubian knot
olive knot
overhand knot
Philadelphia knot
porter's knot
Pratt knot
pretzel knot
pseudoknot
Psyche knot
pump knot
reef knot
reknot
root-knot nematode
rose knot
running knot
sack knot
schoolboy knot
seek a knot in a bulrush
Shelby knot
shepherd's knot
shoulder-knot
shroud knot
simple knot
slice knot
slip knot
slipknot
Solomon's knot
square knot
Stafford knot
stevedore's knot
stopper knot
Suebian knot
Suevian knot
surfer's knot
surgeon's knot
sword knot
tape knot
thief knot
thumb knot
tie the knot
topknot
trefoil knot
true-love knot
true-love-knot
true lover's knot
Turkish knot
underwriter's knot
unknot
wall knot
water knot
waterman's knot
weaver's knot
Windsor knot
witch-knot
wood knot
knot off
Translations:
lang: Abkhaz
word: аиқәҳәала
roman: ajkʷḥʷala
lang: Albanian
word: nyjë
lang: Gheg Albanian
word: ny
lang: Southern Altai
word: тӱӱн
roman: tüün
lang: Southern Altai
word: тӱйӱн
roman: tüyün
lang: Arabic
word: عُقْدَة
roman: ʕuqda
lang: Armenian
word: հանգույց
roman: hanguycʻ
lang: Aromanian
word: nod
lang: Assamese
word: গাঁঠি
roman: gãthi
lang: Asturian
word: nuedu
lang: Asturian
word: ñuedu
lang: Asturian
word: nudu
lang: Asturian
word: ñudu
lang: Asturian
word: noyu
lang: Asturian
word: nodiu
lang: Asturian
word: nougu
lang: Asturian
word: nuegu
lang: Avar
word: гарацӏ
roman: garacʼ
lang: Azerbaijani
word: düyün
lang: Bashkir
word: төйөн
roman: töyön
lang: Basque
word: lotu
lang: Belarusian
word: ву́зел
roman: vúzjel
lang: Bengali
word: গিঁট
roman: gĩṭ
lang: Bhojpuri
word: गाँठ
roman: gā̃ṭh
lang: Breton
word: koulm
lang: Breton
word: kouloum
lang: Bulgarian
word: въ́зел
roman: vǎ́zel
lang: Burmese
word: အထုံးအဖွဲ့
roman: a.htum:a.hpwai.
lang: Burmese
word: ရေမိုင်
roman: remuing
lang: Catalan
word: nus
lang: Chechen
word: шад
roman: šad
lang: Chichewa
word: mfundo
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 結 /结
roman: jiē
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 繩結 /绳结
roman: shéngjié
lang: Cornish
word: kolm
lang: Czech
word: uzel
lang: Danish
word: knude
lang: Dutch
word: knoop
lang: Dutch
word: knot
lang: Egyptian
word: T:z-t:Tz
roman: ṯzt
lang: Elfdalian
word: knaut
lang: Esperanto
word: nodo
lang: Estonian
word: sõlm
lang: Faroese
word: knútur
lang: Finnish
word: solmu
lang: French
word: nœud
lang: West-Frisian
word: knoop
lang: Friulian
word: grop
lang: Galician
word: nó
lang: Georgian
word: ნასკვი
roman: nasḳvi
lang: German
word: Knoten
lang: Greek
word: κόμπος
roman: kómpos
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἅμμα
roman: hámma
lang: Greenlandic
word: qilerneq
lang: Haitian Creole
word: ne
lang: Hebrew
word: קֶשֶׁר
roman: késher
lang: Hindi
word: गाँठ
roman: gā̃ṭh
lang: Hindi
word: गिरह
roman: girah
lang: Hindi
word: गिरिह
roman: girih
lang: Hungarian
word: csomó
lang: Icelandic
word: hnútur
lang: Indonesian
word: buhul
lang: Ingush
word: шод
roman: šod
lang: Interlingua
word: nodo
lang: Irish
word: snaidhm
lang: Italian
word: nodo
lang: Japanese
word: 結び目
roman: musubime
lang: Kashmiri
word: گَنٛڈ
roman: ganḍ
lang: Kazakh
word: түйін
roman: tüiın
lang: Khmer
word: ចំណង
roman: cɑmnɑɑng
lang: Korean
word: 매듭
roman: maedeup
lang: Korean
word: 코
lang: Central Kurdish
word: گرێ
roman: grê
lang: Kyrgyz
word: түйүн
roman: tüyün
lang: Lao
word: ປົມ
roman: pom
lang: Lao
word: ເງື່ອນ
roman: ngư̄an
lang: Latgalian
word: mozgys
lang: Latin
word: nōdus
lang: Latvian
word: mezgls
lang: Lingala
word: litonga
lang: Lithuanian
word: mazgas
lang: Lombard
word: nöd
lang: Lombard
word: nœud
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Knuet
lang: Macedonian
word: јазол
roman: jazol
lang: Malagasy
word: fatotra
lang: Malay
word: simpul
lang: Maltese
word: għoqda
lang: Māori
word: tīpona
lang: Marshallese
word: booj
lang: Mongolian
word: зангилаа
roman: zangilaa
lang: Nepali
word: गाँठो
roman: gā̃ṭho
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: knute
lang: Occitan
word: noset
lang: Occitan
word: nos
lang: Old East Slavic
word: ѫзлъ
roman: ǫzlŭ
lang: Old East Slavic
word: узьлъ
roman: uzĭlŭ
lang: Old English
word: cnotta
lang: Ossetian
word: ӕлхынцъ
roman: ælxync’
lang: Ossetian
word: сыхуыл
lang: Pannonian Rusyn
word: ґузел
roman: guzel
lang: Pashto
word: غوټه
roman: ǧuṭa
lang: Dari
word: گِرِهْ
roman: girih
lang: Iranian Persian
word: گِرِهْ
roman: gereh
lang: Polish
word: węzeł
lang: Portuguese
word: nó
lang: Punjabi
word: ਗੰਢ
roman: gaṇḍh
lang: Romanian
word: nod
lang: Romansh
word: nuf
lang: Romansh
word: nuv
lang: Romansh
word: nouv
lang: Russian
word: у́зел
roman: úzel
lang: Northern Sami
word: čuolbma
lang: Sanskrit
word: ग्रन्थि
roman: granthi
lang: Sardinian
word: nodu
lang: Sardinian
word: nudu
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: snaidhm
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: чво̑р
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: čvȏr
lang: Sicilian
word: gruppu
lang: Slovak
word: uzol
lang: Slovene
word: vozel
lang: Upper Sorbian
word: suk
lang: Spanish
word: nudo
lang: Spanish
word: ñudo
lang: Swahili
word: fundo
lang: Swedish
word: knop
lang: Swedish
word: knut
lang: Swedish
word: stek
lang: Tagalog
word: buhol
lang: Tajik
word: гиреҳ
roman: gireh
lang: Tajik
word: тугун
roman: tugun
lang: Talysh
word: انگل
roman: angəl
lang: Tamil
word: முடிச்சு
roman: muṭiccu
lang: Tamil
word: முடி
roman: muṭi
lang: Taos
word: cìʼíne
lang: Tatar
word: төен
roman: töyen
lang: Telugu
word: ముడి
roman: muḍi
lang: Thai
word: ปม
roman: bpom
lang: Thai
word: เงื่อน
roman: ngʉ̂ʉan
lang: Tibetan
word: མདུད་པ
roman: mdud pa
lang: Turkish
word: düğüm
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: دوگوم
roman: düğüm
lang: Turkmen
word: düwün
lang: Tuvan
word: доң
roman: doñ
lang: Tuvan
word: дүүшкүн
roman: düüşkün
lang: Tuvan
word: чүс
roman: çüs
lang: Ukrainian
word: ву́зол
roman: vúzol
lang: Urdu
word: گِرَہْ
roman: girah
lang: Urdu
word: گِرِہْ
roman: girih
lang: Urdu
word: گان٘ٹھ
roman: gā̃ṭh
lang: Uyghur
word: تۈگۈن
roman: tügün
lang: Uzbek
word: tugun
lang: Venetan
word: grop
lang: Venetan
word: gropo
lang: Vietnamese
word: nút
lang: Vietnamese
word: nơ
lang: Welsh
word: cwlwm
lang: Yiddish
word: פּעקל
roman: pekl
lang: Zulu
word: ifindo