Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—W

Warp

(To). A sea term, meaning to shift the position of a vessel. This is done by means of a rope called a warp. Kedging is when the warp is bent to a kedge, which is let go, and the vessel is hove ahead by the capstan.

The potent rod
Of Amram's son [Moses], in Egypt s evil day,
Waved round the coast, up-called a pitchy cloud
Of locusts, warping [shifting about] in the eastern wind.

Milton: Paradise Lost, i. 338.

In Lancashire, warping means laying eggs; and boys, on finding a bird's nest, will ask - “And how many eggs has she warped?”

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Warp and Weft
Warning Stone
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