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oar
oar, a wooden instrument which, working as a lever, is used to pull a boat through the water. It has three parts: the blade, the part of the oar which enters the water; the shaft, the main body of the oar; and the loom, the inboard end on which the rower pulls, or pushes. The point of leverage is the rowlock, crutch, or thole pin in the gunwale of the boat.
Tomb reliefs show Egyptians standing to row as did the Chinese when propelling their junks, but in western Europe rowers usually sat on thwarts facing the stern as did the Phoenicians. In the Orient some oarsmen stand facing the vessel's bows and push on the loom, as does the Maltese oarsman in his dghaisa. The oar was a basic adjunct of the sea in classical times, when it was the only motive power for galleys. According to legend, Odysseus was told, on his retirement from a life at sea, that he should journey inland carrying an oar over his shoulder until he found a people who asked him what it was he was carrying. There, after making a sacrifice to Neptune, he should build his house. See also scull, to; yuloh. |
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"oar." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oar." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-oar.html "oar." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-oar.html |
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oar
oar / ôr/ • n. a pole with a flat blade, pivoting in an oar lock, used to row or steer a boat through the water. ∎ a rower. • v. [tr.] row; propel with or as with oars: oaring the sea like madmen | [intr.] oaring through the weeds. ∎ move (something, esp. the hands) like oars: her slender arms oaring the air. PHRASES: put in one's oar inf. give an opinion without being asked. rest on one's oars relax one's efforts.DERIVATIVES: oar·less adj. |
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Cite this article
"oar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oar.html "oar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oar.html |
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oar
oar n.
1. a pole with a flat blade, pivoting in an oar lock, used to row or steer a boat through the water. 2. an oarsman; a rower. v. row; propel with or as with oars |
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Cite this article
"oar." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oar." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-oar.html "oar." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-oar.html |
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oar
oar OE. ār = ON. ár :- Gmc. *airō.
Hence oarlock OE. ārloc; see ROWLOCK. |
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T. F. HOAD. "oar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "oar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oar.html T. F. HOAD. "oar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oar.html |
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oar
oar •abhor, adore, afore, anymore, ashore, awe, bandore, Bangalore, before, boar, Boer, bore, caw, chore, claw, cocksure, comprador, cor, core, corps, craw, Delors, deplore, door, draw, drawer, evermore, explore, flaw, floor, for, forbore, fore, foresaw, forevermore, forswore, four, fourscore, furthermore, Gábor, galore, gnaw, gore, grantor, guarantor, guffaw, hard-core, Haugh, haw, hoar, ignore, implore, Indore, interwar, jaw, Johor, Lahore, law, lessor, lor, lore, macaw, man-o'-war, maw, mirador, mor, more, mortgagor, Mysore, nevermore, nor, oar, obligor, offshore, onshore, or, ore, outdoor, outwore, paw, poor, pore, pour, rapport, raw, roar, saw, scaur, score, senhor, señor, shaw, ship-to-shore, shop-floor, shore, signor, Singapore, snore, soar, softcore, sore, spore, squaw, store, straw, swore, Tagore, tau, taw, thaw, Thor, threescore, tor, tore, torr, trapdoor, tug-of-war, two-by-four, underfloor, underscore, war, warrantor, Waugh, whore, withdraw, wore, yaw, yore, your
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Cite this article
"oar." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oar." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oar.html "oar." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oar.html |
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OAr
OAr Old Arabic
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Cite this article
FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "OAr." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "OAr." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-OAr.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "OAr." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-OAr.html |
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