To be able to tie a knot, or to understand the description of a knot there are terms that you should be aware of:

BACK SPLICE - Splicing a line back on itself to prevent unraveling - it like the short splice has a cross section of 6 strands and may not be able to be pulled through a block.

BEND - A knot used for joining two ends together.

BIGHT - A semi-circle of rope where the rope does not cross itself; also the part of the rope between the standing part and the end that can be used in tying the knot.

BITTER END - The free end of a line.

COIL - Rope made into a neat series of loops or circles, usually for storing.

CROSSING TURN - A circle of rope made by crossing the rope over itself.

DRESS - To remove slack in the knot by drawing up the knot neatly; to make sure the knot is tied correctly, that all parts are where they should be.

END - The end of the rope.

EYE - A loop made in the end of a rope either by knotting, seizing or splicing.

EYE SPLICE - Stronger than any knot in forming a loop in a line.

FAKING - Laying a line on deck in a series figure eights so the line will run free without tangling.

FLAKING - Laying out line on deck in parallel rows. Don't confuse with faking.

FLEMISH - To make a Flemish coil by taking the end of a line and laying it in a tight flat spiral on the deck. Used to "tidy" up and keep line neat.

FRAPS - A means of tightening the lashings by looping the rope perpendicularly around the wraps that hold the spars or sticks together.

FRICTION HITCH - A knot tied directly to the standing part, another rope, or a cylindrical object that is adjustable (can be slid) when the knot itself is grabbed and moved, but otherwise stays put (from friction) when the load is on the standing part.

HITCH - A knot that attaches a rope directly to an object.

LAY - The lay of the rope is the same as the twist of the rope.

LASHINGS - A means of using wraps and fraps to tie two or three spars or sticks together to form solid corners or to construct tripods. Lashings begin and end with clove hitches.

LONG SPLICE - The strand of one line replaces the strand of the other line. The size of line is kept the same however, and it is weaker than the short splice.

LOOP - A circle of rope in which the rope crosses itself.

PARCELING - Winding strips of canvas over, and in the same direction as, worming.

PARTS - The term "Parts" refers to the number of strands (or groups of strands) there are in any given knot along its width.

PASSES - Using the case of a Turks Head knot, for instance, we can produce a 3-Strand knot with a single length of rope because the rope passes through the knot in such a way that it comes back to the starting point and can pass through the knot again (and again) weaving back into the knot side-by-side with the first pass. This means that we must sometimes distinguish between the Terms STRANDS and PASSES, although they are for all intents and purposes, equal.

RUNNING END - The free or working end of a rope. This is the part of the rope you are actually using to tie the knot.

SERVING - Winding small line against the lay and over worming and parceling to protect line from chafe and water damage.

SET - To fully tighten a knot by pulling on all parts.

SEIZING - Wrapping twine or tape around two lines to bind two parts of line side by side.

SLIP - To use a bight of rope instead of the end when finishing tying a knot; used to make untying a knot easier.

SPLICE - Weaving strands of a line to itself or to a second piece of line.

SHORT SPLICE - The strongest way to connect two lines. This splice has 6 strands in the cross section and is thick and may not run through a block.

STANDING PART - The longer part of a line which is fixed during the tying of a knot.

STRANDS - To some extent, the terms "Strands" and "Passes" are equivalent. "Strands" refers to how many individual pieces of wire run side-by-side along the same path in an interwoven knot when viewed at one specific point. In the above knot we have highlighted the individual strands so you can see it is a "2 Strand" knot.

STOPPER KNOT - A bulky knot that is used to prevent the rope from pulling through a hole or pulley.

THIMBLE - A metal or plastic form inserted in the eye splice to prevent chafe.

TURN - A loop formed around a post, rail, or the line itself.

WHIPPING - Wrapping twine or tape around line to line's end to prevent unraveling.

WORMING - Laying smaller line in the spiral grooves (with the lay) between line strands.

WRAPS - Simple wraps of rope around two poles or sticks (square lashing) or three poles or sticks (tripod lashing). Wraps begin and end with clove hitches and get tighter with fraps. All together, they form a lashing.