headfast

British

/ ˈhɛdfɑːst /

noun

a mooring rope at the bows of a ship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of headfast

C16: from _head (in the sense: front) + fast a mooring rope, from Middle English fest, from Old Norse festr; related to _fast ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At the same time Dow had requested Mr. Sidebotham, his Majesty's officer in the Isle of Man, to cast off the Sincerity's headfast and sternfasts from the shore.

From King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 by Chatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble)

In this lay the danger of making fast, for a strong pull from a headfast rope might drag the erection completely over.

From The Hand of Ethelberta by Hardy, Thomas

In nautical Spanish prois or proiza is a breastfast or headfast, that is a large cable for fastening a ship to a wharf or another ship.

From The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 by Olson, Julius E.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023