List of knot terminology
This page explains commonly used terms related to knots.
A bight is a slack part in the middle of a rope, usually a curve or loop.
[6] Decorative knotting is one of the oldest and most widely distributed types of folk art.
An elbow is created when an additional twist is made in a loop.
[1] "Flaking" or "Faking" also means to lay a rope on a surface ready to use or to run out quickly without tangles.
A lashing is an arrangement of rope used to secure two or more items together in a rigid manner.
Common uses include the joining of scaffolding poles and the securing of sailing masts.
It is a full circle formed by passing the working end of a rope over itself.
[4] An open loop is a curve in a rope that resembles a semicircle in which the legs are not touching or crossed.
The legs of an open loop are brought together narrower than they are in a bight.
Small-stuff is a nautical and knot-tying term for thin string or twine, as opposed to the thick, heavy ropes that are more often used in sailing.
It is commonly used in a whipping to bind the ends of ropes to prevent fraying.
Historically, the term referred to cordage less than one inch in circumference.
[19] Much of the small-stuff on board ships, especially that used for decorative or fancy ropework, was made by the sailors themselves reusing materials unlaid from old and leftover pieces of larger rope and cable.
