footrope

[ foot-rohp ]

noun

, Nautical.

1. the portion of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewn.
2. a rope suspended a few feet foot beneath a yard, bowsprit, jib boom, or spanker boom to give a footing foot for a person handling sails.

footrope

/ ˈfʊtˌrəʊp /

noun

1. the part of a boltrope to which the foot of a sail is stitched
2. a rope fixed so as to hang below a yard to serve as a foothold

Word History and Origins

Origin of footrope¹

First recorded in 1765–75; foot + rope

Example Sentences

The researchers placed 10 battery-powered green LEDs at the mouth of one net, tying them to the “footrope” on its bottom side.

From New York Times

A footrope ran below the spar; one could balance oneself by its help and he vaguely distinguished somebody close by.

From Project Gutenberg

Jimmy laughed as he swung himself up to the footrope.

From Project Gutenberg

He broke two of his nails before he finished his task and dropped from the footrope to the Tyee's deck, and the liner had sunk to a gleaming white blur and a smoke-trail on the rim of the sea before they had reefed the foresail and once more got way on her.

From Project Gutenberg

The rigging was dropping to pieces; so that a man never knew, when he went aloft, whether he would not come crashing down by the run, from the parting of a rotten footrope or a perished seizing.

From Project Gutenberg