noun.
A rope or chain used to steady the bowsprit of a ship.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.Nautical, one of two or three ropes or chains extending from the outer end of the bowsprit to the cut-water. Their function is to hold the bowsprit down in its place, and counteract the upward strain exerted by the headstays.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
A rope or chain to confine the bowsprit of a ship downward to the stem or cutwater; -- usually in the pl.