end part of a rope in use for rigging or climbing (contrast with running end and standing part).

working end (Wikipedia)

A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a hitch fastens a rope to another object; a bend fastens two ends of a rope to each another; a loop knot is any knot creating a loop; and splice denotes any multi-strand knot, including bends and loops. A knot may also refer, in the strictest sense, to a stopper or knob at the end of a rope to keep that end from slipping through a grommet or eye. Knots have excited interest since ancient times for their practical uses, as well as their topological intricacy, studied in the area of mathematics known as knot theory.

An example of a quipu from the Inca Empire, currently in the Larco Museum Collection.
Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot, by Jean-Simon Berthélemy (1743–1812)
Gordian Knot statue (1990)
Magimagi sennit of Fiji around wooden ceiling posts.
Blackfoot "Teton" tipi tie
« Back to Glossary Index