Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
rope yarn ExamplesWord Origin noun
- See under yarn(def 3).
Origin of rope yarn First recorded in 1615–25 yarn [yahrn] noun
- thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.
- a continuous strand or thread made from glass, metal, plastic, etc.
- the thread, in the form of a loosely twisted aggregate of fibers, as of hemp, of which rope is made (rope yarn).
- a tale, especially a long story of adventure or incredible happenings: He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.
verb (used without object)
- Informal. to spin a yarn; tell stories.
Origin of yarn before 1000; Middle English; Old English gearn; cognate with German Garn; akin to Old Norse gǫrn gut, Greek chordḗ intestine, chord1, Lithuanian žarnà entrails, Latin hernia a rupture, Sanskrit hirā vein Examples from the Web for rope yarn Historical Examples of rope yarn
The Kensington was dismasted, and had to return to refit, but we did not part a rope-yarn.
James Fenimore Cooper
Not a man of us turns to, unless you swear not to raise a rope-yarn against us.
Herman Melville
Hand me an oar and a boat-hook,” he exclaimed, “and some rope-yarn.
William H. G. Kingston
See, Tommy; I have found this key fastened with a rope-yarn round his neck.
W H G Kingston
Dick and I were at work on the bowsprit, I sitting by him, holding the rope-yarn and grease-pot.
W. H. G. Kingston
British Dictionary definitions for rope yarn rope yarn noun
- the natural or synthetic fibres out of which rope is made
yarn noun
- a continuous twisted strand of natural or synthetic fibres, used in weaving, knitting, etc
- informal a long and often involved story or account, usually telling of incredible or fantastic events
- spin a yarn informal
- to tell such a story
- to make up or relate a series of excuses
verb
- (intr) to tell such a story or stories
Word Origin for yarn Old English gearn; related to Old High German garn yarn, Old Norse görn gut, Greek khordē string, gut Word Origin and History for rope yarn yarn n.
Old English gearn “spun fiber,” from Proto-Germanic *garnan (cf. Old Norse, Old High German, German garn, Middle Dutch gaern, Dutch garen “yarn”), from PIE root *ghere- “intestine, gut, entrail” (cf. Old Norse gorn “gut,” Sanskrit hira “vein; entrails,” Latin hernia “rupture,” Greek khorde “intestine, gut-string,” Lithuanian zarna “gut”). The phrase to spin a yarn “to tell a story” is first attested 1812, from a sailors’ expression, on notion of telling stories while engaged in sedentary work such as yarn-twisting.
Idioms and Phrases with rope yarn yarn
see spin a yarn.