rowlock Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing
pin; oarlock; thole; peg; tholepin.

For oarlock; AS. *rloc, where the second part is skin to G. loch a hole, E. lock a fastening. See Oar, and Lock.

(Naut.) A contrivance or arrangement serving as a fulcrum for an oar in rowing. It consists sometimes of a notch in the gunwale of a boat, sometimes of a pair of pins between which the oar rests on the edge of the gunwale, sometimes of a single pin passing through the oar, or of a metal fork or stirrup pivoted in the gunwale and suporting the oar.