History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 160

as ‘a Humber or sea-coast boat of river-barge build and a trysail, a bluff-bowed North
Country trader or large one-masted vessel of burden’; he derives boy from Du. boeier,
a sloop of Flemish construction (see Boyer). Tjalk (1889), a kind of Dutch ship or
sailing-boat; from Du. and LG. tjalk, a kind of ship, ad. West Fris. tsjalk.
4. 5.
There is a large group of terms for the rigging, spars, and tackle of a ship. In Middle
English the following appeared:
Tackle (c. 1250), apparatus, equipment in general; (a. 1300), the rigging of a ship,
also gear; apparently of Low Dutch origin, and probably ad. MLG. takel, equipment
generally, esp. of a horseman, specially of a ship, hoisting apparatus (LG. takel,
e.mod.Du. takel, strong rope, hawser, pulley). The vb. Tackle (c. 1400), to furnish a
ship with tackle, and Tackling (c. 1422), the furnishing, rigging, gear, are both from
the sb.
Mike (13.., E.E. Allit. P.), probably a ‘crutch’ or forked support on which a boom rests
when lowered; perhaps ad. M.Du. micke (Du. mik).
Bowline (c. 13..), a rope passing from about the middle of the perpendicular edge of
the weather side of the square sails to the larboard or starboard bow for the purpose
of keeping the edge of the sail steady whe