hawser
/ˈhɔːzə
/noun
A thick rope or cable for mooring or towing a ship.Many of the ship's 625 passengers peered at the spectacle below, as the ship was moored along the pier and held by thick hawsers....
- Fortunately, her dogs were tied to a tree by what appeared to be old tug hawsers.
- The captain and his crew abandoned ship in the boats and ran a hawser to anchor the Shuna's bow to the shore.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French haucer, from Old French haucier 'to hoist', based on Latin altus 'high'.