prat(t) (but not Siouan)

[Alan H. Hartley]

Bruce Ingham wrote:

> On the same tack and without sailing too close to the wind, does any one
> know why in the old days the anchors were 'won' after they had been
> 'weighed'.  Was it suppletion or an old form?

'Win' is not a suppletive to 'weigh' (as far as I know). The anchor
sense fits pretty well into the constellation of senses attested in the
OED for 'win' (verb, homonym 1):

1. intr. To work, labour (OE.); to strive, contend, fight. Obs.
2. trans. To conquer, subdue, overcome, defeat, vanquish, 'beat'. Obs.
3. To be victorious in (a contest of any kind, as a battle, game, race,
action at law, etc.)
4. absol. or intr. To overcome one's adversary, opponent, or competitor;
to be victorious, gain the victory (now chiefly in sports or games of
skill); fig. to prevail.
5. a. trans. To subdue and take possession of; to seize, capture, take
(a place). arch. (now associated with 6).
    b. To seize, capture, take as spoil; to catch (fish, a bird); to
capture, take captive (a person). Obs. exc. in euphemistic slang, to steal.
    [and other subsenses]
6. To get, obtain, acquire; esp. to get as something profitable or
desired; to gain, procure.  a. with concrete (material) obj. Obs. or
arch. exc. in specific uses: see 7.
    [and other subsenses]
7. g. To get or extract (coal, stone, or other mineral) from the mine,
pit, or quarry; also, to sink a shaft or make an excavation so as to
reach (a seam of coal or vein of ore) and prepare it for working, as by
drainage, etc.
    [and other subsenses]
8. To regain, recover (something lost); hence, to make up for (loss,
waste); to rescue, deliver; in religious use, to redeem: often with
again. Obs.
[and other senses]

With respect to the winning of fish in sense 5.b., note (coincidentally)
the naut. verb 'fish,' to draw the flukes of an anchor up to the ship's
gunwale after it's been catted (i.e., suspended from the cathead, the
short beam protruding from either bow for the purpose).

OED doesn't have the sense relating to anchors (or in fact, any sense
labeled 'naut.') The naut. coverage of the OED needs improvement and is
getting it.

Alan

P.S. Goodness: this is really not Siouan!