rowlock

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing

An alteration, based on row, of earlier oarlock, from Old English ārlōc, equivalent to oar + lock.

The oars rested on the rowlocks. — Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne
The oars hung suspended above their rowlocks. — Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World, Jules Verne
“You come too,” he said, jumping in, and fixing the rowlocks. — The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers

peg, pin, thole, tholepin, oarlock

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