bitts

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
Mooring bitts on board SS Shieldhall, a preserved steamship.

Etymology

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

References

[edit]

Luxembourgish

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

bitts

  1. second-person singular present indicative of bidden