hawser

plural hawsers

1. nauticalA thick or heavy-duty cable or rope used to tow or moor a ship.

   Near-synonym: mooring line

   2 more examples

   The hawser was as taut as a bowstring, and the current so strong she pulled upon her anchor. All around the hull, in the blackness, the rippling current bubbled and chattered like a little mountain stream.

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Ebb-tide Runs”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part V (My Sea Adventure), page 185

   A hatchet to my hawser? all adrift to go?

   1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter [HTTP://GUTENBERG.NET.AU/EBOOKS06/0608511H.HTML CHAPTER 26].”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC

   Synonyms: mooring line