: a crane that projects over the side of a ship or a hatchway and is used especially for boats, anchors, or cargo
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It’s placed on a table that’s secured to scaffolds suspended by cranes or davit systems from the roof.—Stephanie Cain, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2024 The film also depicts some lifeboats being lowered on top of each other as Titanic sank lower and lower into the ocean, with people in the boats frantically sawing through the davit ropes with pocket knives to avoid collisions.—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2023 One former officer said that a manual for a davit, a type of crane used to lower a search-and-rescue boat, was written in Norwegian.—Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 23 Nov. 2015 Another crew member was a Titanic obsessive—his endless talk of davits and well decks still rattles in my head.—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 1 July 2023
Word History
Etymology
Middle English daviot, from Anglo-French, from Middle French daviet joiner's cramp, diminutive of david cramp, probably from the name David
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