I. ˈnät noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cnotta; akin to Old High German knoto knot
Date: before 12th century
1.
a. : an interlacement of the parts of one or more flexible bodies forming a lump or knob (as for fastening or tying together)
b. : the lump or knob so formed
c. : a tight constriction or the sense of constriction
my stomach was all in knot s
2. : something hard to solve : problem
a matter full of legal knot s
3. : a bond of union ; especially : the marriage bond
4.
a. : a protuberant lump or swelling in tissue
a knot in a gland
b. : the base of a woody branch enclosed in the stem from which it arises ; also : its section in lumber
5. : a cluster of persons or things : group
6. : an ornamental bow of ribbon : cockade
7.
a. : a division of the log's line serving to measure a ship's speed
b.
(1) : one nautical mile per hour
(2) : one nautical mile — not used technically
8. : a closed curve in three-dimensional space
[
knot 1b: 1 Blackwall hitch, 2 carrick bend, 3 clove hitch, 4 cat's-paw, 5 figure eight, 6 granny knot, 7 bowline, 8 overhand knot, 9 fisherman's bend, 10 half hitch, 11 square knot, 12 slipknot, 13 stevedore knot, 14 true lover's knot, 15 surgeon's knot, 16 Turk's head, 17 sheet bend, 18 timber hitch, 19 seizing, 20 rolling hitch, 21 sheepshank
]
II. verb
( knot·ted ; knot·ting )
Date: 1547
transitive verb
1. : to tie in or with a knot : form knots in
2. : to unite closely or intricately : entangle
3. : tie 4b
knotted the score
intransitive verb
: to form knots
• knot·ter noun
III. noun
( plural knots or knot )
Etymology: Middle English knott
Date: 15th century
: either of two sandpipers ( Calidris canutus and C. tenuirostris ) that breed in the Arctic and winter in temperate or warm parts of the New and Old World