Cockbill

Definitions

  • Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
    • v. t Cockbill kŏk"bĭl` (Naut) To tilt up one end of so as to make almost vertical; as, to cockbill the yards as a sign of mourning.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
    • cockbill Nautical, to place a-cockbill, as an anchor or the yards.
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Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
See Cock to set erect

Usage

In literature:

Has it dawned on you, sir, that if I hadn't had sense enough to cockbill that anchor again you'd be on the beach this minute?
"Captain Scraggs" by Peter B. Kyne
To put the yards a-cockbill is to top them up by one lift to an angle with the deck.
"The Sailor's Word-Book" by William Henry Smyth
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