bowline
Noun
Meaning
A rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails, by subordinate ropes, called bridles, and used to keep the weather edge of the sail tight forward, when the ship is closehauled.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
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Examples
I am not a yachting person, by nature, but I have just enough experience on the sea under sail to feel a certain nostalgia for it when I see a big white racing yacht heeled over at cruising speed on the ocean, and I can still tie a mean bowline knot on just about anything in less than 10 seconds.
After the rope is secured by non-slip bowline knots, it is pulled to the rear until the animal is off-balance.
In applications where the two legs of the loop are nearly parallel, a bowline is superior.
Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline.
Other two-loop bowline knots include the Spanish bowline and the bowline on the bight ; these can be tied in the middle of a rope without access to the ends.
Other variants Two-loop Birmingham bowline before tightening and dressing the knot.