bitts

English

Mooring bitts on board SS Shieldhall, a preserved steamship.

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.

Noun

bitts pl (plural only)

1. (nautical, 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

Derived terms

• bitter
• bitter end
• bitt-heads
• bitt-pins
• bitt-stopper
• bitt the cable
• carrick-bitts
• fore-brace bitts
• gallows-bitts
• jear-bitts
• paul-bitts, pawl-bitts
• riding-bitts
• topsail-sheet bitts
• winch-bitts
• windlass-bitts

References

• An etymological dictionary of the English language, p. 65
• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Bitts”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Luxembourgish

Verb

bitts

1. second-person singular present indicative of bidden