bitts
English
Mooring bitts on board SS Shieldhall, a preserved steamship.
Etymology
The word is probably Scandinavian, and the English form a corruption or contraction. Compare Swedish beting and Danish beding.
Noun
bitts pl (plural only)
- (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
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 or pawl-bitts
- riding-bitts
- topsail-sheet bitts
- winch-bitts
- windlass-bitts
References
- An etymological dictionary of the English language, p. 65
Luxembourgish
Verb
bitts
- second-person singular present indicative of bidden