Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Hammock?

\Ham"mock\, n. [A word of Indian origin: cf. Sp. hamaca. Columbus, in the Narrative of his first voyage, says: ``A great many Indians in canoes came to the ship to-day for the purpose of bartering their cotton, and hamacas, or nets, in which they sleep.''] 1. A swinging couch or bed, usually made of netting or canvas about six feet wide, suspended by clews or cords at the ends. 2. A piece of land thickly wooded, and usually covered with bushes and vines. Used also adjectively; as, hammock land. [Southern U. S.] --Bartlett. {Hammock nettings} (Naut.), formerly, nets for stowing hammocks; now, more often, wooden boxes or a trough on the rail, used for that purpose.