Meanings
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1
noun
a U-shaped fitting or socket on the side of a boat that holds an oar and serves as its pivot while rowing
The oar jumped out of the rowlock as the boat struck the wave.
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2
noun
a brick laid on its narrow side with its shortest face exposed, especially in a decorative course
The mason finished the wall with a rowlock course above the window.
Thesaurus
Etymology
An eighteenth-century alteration of oarlock under the influence of row. Oarlock continues Old English arloc, a compound of oar + lock, referring to the fitting that confines an oar while allowing it to pivot.