Cordages

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of flexible, durable materials often used for binding or connecting various items, typically made of fibers or threads
2. A collection of ropes or strings employed for fastening and securing purposes in diverse contexts
3. Several lengths of thick, sturdy ropes used for tying or securing objects

Etymology: Ancient Greek "chordē" originally meant an animal's intestine, the gut that was dried and stretched to make lyre strings. Latin borrowed it as "chorda," and it passed through Old French as "corde," which English adopted as "cord." A ship's rope and a harp string thus share one ancestor, and "chord" in music is the same word again, arriving by a different route. "Cordage" is "cord" with the French suffix "-age," which turns a noun into a collective term for a body of such things, as in "baggage" or "tonnage." The plural "cordages" is used when referring to several distinct sets of rope or line, such as the separate rigging on different vessels or the lines used in different trades.

Synonyms: ropes, cables, lines, string, twine