Found 1 items, similar to Marline-spike bird.
English → English (gcide) Definition: Marline-spike bird Marline \Mar"line\, n. [LG. marlien, marling, or D. marling, marlijn, fr. D. marren to tie, prob. akin to E. moor, v., and lijn line: cf.F. merlin. See Moor, v., Line.] (Naut.) A small line composed of two strands a little twisted, used for winding around ropes and cables, to prevent their being weakened by fretting. [1913 Webster] Marline spike, Marling spike (Naut.), an iron tool tapering to a point, used to separate the strands of a rope in splicing and in marling. It has an eye in the thick end to which a lanyard is attached. See Fid. [Written also marlin spike] Marline-spike bird. [The name alludes to the long middle tail feathers.] (Zo["o]l.) (a) A tropic bird. (b) A jager, or skua gull. [1913 Webster]