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Webster 1913 Edition

Knot

Knot

(nŏt)
,
Noun.
[OE.
knot
,
knotte
, AS.
cnotta
; akin to D.
knot
, OHG.
chnodo
,
chnoto
, G.
knoten
, Icel.
knūtr
, Sw.
knut
, Dan.
knude
, and perh. to L.
nodus
. Cf.
Knout
,
Knit
.]
1.
(a)
A fastening together of the parts or ends of one or more threads, cords, ropes, etc., by any one of various ways of tying or entangling.
(b)
A lump or loop formed in a thread, cord, rope. etc., as at the end, by tying or interweaving it upon itself.
(c)
An ornamental tie, as of a ribbon.
☞ The names of knots vary according to the manner of their making, or the use for which they are intended; as, dowknot, reef knot, stopper knot, diamond knot, etc.
2.
A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
“With nuptial knot.”
Shak.
Ere we knit the
knot
that can never be loosed.
Bp. Hall.
3.
Something not easily solved; an intricacy; a difficulty; a perplexity; a problem.
Knots
worthy of solution.
Cowper.
A man shall be perplexed with
knots
, and problems of business, and contrary affairs.
South.
4.
A figure the lines of which are interlaced or intricately interwoven, as in embroidery, gardening, etc.
“Garden knots.”
Bacon.
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.
Milton.
5.
A cluster of persons or things; a collection; a group; a hand; a clique;
as, a
knot
of politicians
.
“Knots of talk.”
Tennyson.
His ancient
knot
of dangerous adversaries.
Shakespeare
Palms in cluster,
knots
of Paradise.
Tennyson.
As they sat together in small, separate
knots
, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.
Sir W. Scott.
6.
A portion of a branch of a tree that forms a mass of woody fiber running at an angle with the grain of the main stock and making a hard place in the timber. A loose knot is generally the remains of a dead branch of a tree covered by later woody growth.
7.
A knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
With lips serenely placid, felt the
knot

Climb in her throat.
Tennyson.
8.
A protuberant joint in a plant.
9.
The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
[Obs.]
I shoulde to the
knotte
condescend,
And maken of her walking soon an end.
Chaucer.
10.
(Mech.)
See
Node
.
11.
(Naut.)
(a)
A division of the log line, serving to measure the rate of the vessel’s motion. Each knot on the line bears the same proportion to a mile that thirty seconds do to an hour. The number of knots which run off from the reel in half a minute, therefore, shows the number of miles the vessel sails in an hour.
Hence:
(b)
A nautical mile, or 6080.27 feet;
as, when a ship goes nautical eight miles an hour, her speed is said to be eight
knots
.
12.
A kind of epaulet. See
Shoulder knot
.
13.
(Zool.)
A sandpiper (
Tringa canutus
), found in the northern parts of all the continents, in summer. It is grayish or ashy above, with the rump and upper tail coverts white, barred with dusky. The lower parts are pale brown, with the flanks and under tail coverts white. When fat it is prized by epicures. Called also
dunne
.
☞ The name is said to be derived from King Canute, this bird being a favorite article of food with him.
The
knot
that called was Canutus' bird of old,
Of that great king of Danes his name that still doth hold,
His appetite to please that far and near was sought.
Drayton.

Knot

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Knotted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Knotting
.]
1.
To tie in or with, or form into, a knot or knots; to form a knot on, as a rope; to entangle.
“Knotted curls.”
Drayton.
As tight as I could
knot
the noose.
Tennyson.
2.
To unite closely; to knit together.
Bacon.
3.
To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
[Obs. or R.]

Knot

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To form knots or joints, as in a cord, a plant, etc.; to become entangled.
Cut hay when it begins to
knot
.
Mortimer.
2.
To knit knots for fringe or trimming.
3.
To copulate; – said of toads.
[R.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Knot

KNOT

,
Noun.
not.
[L.nodus; probably connected with knit, but perhaps from swelling or gathering.]
1.
The complication of threads made by knitting; a tie; union of cords by interweaving; as a knot difficult to be untied.
2.
Any figure, the lines of which frequently intersect each other; as a knot in gardening.
In beds and curious knots.
3.
A bond of association or union; as the nuptial knot.
4.
The part of a tree where a branch shoots.
5.
The protuberant joint of a plant.
6.
A cluster; a collection; a group; as a knot of ladies; a knot of figures in painting.
7.
Difficulty; intricacy; something not easily solved.
8.
Any intrigue or difficult perplexity of affairs.
9.
A bird of the genus Tringa.
10. An epaulet.
11. In seamen's language, a division of the logline, which answers to half a minute, as a mile does to an hour, or it is the hundred and twentieth part of a mile. Hence, when a ship goes eight miles an hour, she is said to go eight knots.

KNOT

,
Verb.
T.
not.
To complicate or tie in a knot or knots; to form a knot.
1.
To entangle; to perplex.
2.
To unite closely.

KNOT

,
Verb.
I.
not.
To form knots or joints, as in plants.

Definition 2024

knot

knot

See also: knöt

English

A knot.
A mathematical knot.

Noun

knot ‎(plural knots)

  1. 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.
    Climbers must make sure that all knots are both secure and of types that will not weaken the rope.
  2. (of hair, etc) A tangled clump.
    The nurse was brushing knots from the protesting child's hair.
  3. A maze-like pattern.
    • Milton
      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.
  4. (mathematics) A non-self-intersecting closed curve in (e.g., three-dimensional) space that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
    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.
        A knot in its original sense can be modeled as a mathematical knot (or link) as follows: if the knot is made with a single piece of rope, then abstract the shape of that rope and then extend the working end to merge it with the standing end, yielding a mathematical knot. If the knot is attached to a metal ring, then that metal ring can be modeled as a trivial knot and the pair of knots become a link. If more than one mathematical knot (or link) can be thus obtained, then the simplest one (avoiding detours) is probably the one which one would want.
  5. A difficult situation.
    I got into a knot when I inadvertently insulted a policeman.
    • South
      A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs.
  6. The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree's trunk.
    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.
  7. Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.
    Jeremy had a knot on his head where he had bumped it on the bedframe.
  8. A protuberant joint in a plant.
  9. Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
    • Tennyson
      With lips serenely placid, felt the knot / Climb in her throat.
  10. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
    the knot of the tale
  11. (engineering) A node.
  12. A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
  13. A group of people or things.
    • Shakespeare
      his ancient knot of dangerous adversaries
    • Sir Walter Scott
      As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.
    • 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.
  14. A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
    • Shakespeare
      with nuptial knot
    • Bishop Hall
      ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed
  15. (nautical) A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour. (From the practice of counting the number of knots in the log-line (as it plays out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every 1/120th of a mile.)
    Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
  16. (slang) A nautical mile (incorrectly)
Related terms
Translations

Verb

knot ‎(third-person singular simple present knots, present participle knotting, simple past and past participle knotted)

  1. To form into a knot; to tie with a knot or knots.
    We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
    • Tennyson
      as tight as I could knot the noose
  2. To form wrinkles in the forehead, as a sign of concentration, concern, surprise, etc.
    She knotted her brow in concentration while attempting to unravel the tangled strands.
  3. To unite closely; to knit together.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  4. (obsolete, rare) To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
Synonyms
  • (form into a knot): bind, tie
  • (form wrinkles in forehead): knit
Antonyms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Supposed to be derived from the name of King Canute, with whom the bird was a favourite article of food. See the species epithet canutus.

Noun

knot ‎(plural knots or knot)

  1. One of a variety of shore birds; the red-breasted sandpiper (variously Calidris canutus or Tringa canutus).
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Czech

Noun

knot m

  1. A candle wick

Declension

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch cnudde, from Proto-Germanic *knuttan-; cognate with knod, English knot, Frisian knotte, (Middle) High German Knotze (German Knoten), Danish knude, Norwegian knute, Swedish knut, etc.

Noun

knot f, m ‎(plural knotten, diminutive knotje n)

  1. A knot, bun (of hair), skein
  2. The top or crest (with messy branches) of certain woody plants, notably willows
  3. A flax seed box
  4. (dialect) A marble to play with
  5. A prank, joke
Derived terms
  • knotten (verb)
  • knotrank
  • knottenkaf n
  • haarknot
  • vlasknot
  • beknotten (verb)
Related terms
  • knotwilg

Etymology 2

From the cognate English knot, possibly influenced by Vulgar Latin canutus ‎(“grey-headed", "grizzled”)

Noun

knot f, m ‎(plural knotten, diminutive knotje n)

  1. The bird species Tringa canutis, Calidris canutus
Synonyms
  • kanoetstrandloper m
  • kanoetvogel m

Anagrams

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kn̪ɔt̪]

Noun

knot m inan

  1. A wick (as of a candle)

Declension

Etymology

From Old English cnotta, from Proto-Germanic *knuttan-; (cognate with Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte); compare also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Faroese knútur, Icelandic hnútur). Probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- ‎(“to bind”), compare Latin nōdus and its Romance successors.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: nŏt, IPA(key): /nɒt/
  • Homophones: not, naught (some dialects)

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