Etymograph

English

rowlock

Rowlock comes from Old English ārlōc.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ārlōc1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1884rowlock1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rowlock
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Mark Twain pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne C, London: Chatto & Windus: “I took a good gap and a stretch, and…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ārlōcWiktionary, English rowlock
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1884rowlockWiktionary, English rowlock. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Mark Twain pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne C, London: Chatto & Windus: “I took a good gap and a stretch, and…”

The story

An alteration, based on row, of earlier oarlock, from Old English ārlōc, equivalent to oar + lock.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Old English ārlōc

Today it means

noun A usually U-shaped pivot attached to the gunwale (outrigger in a sport boat) of a boat that supports and guides an oar, and provides a fulcrum for rowing; an oarlock.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rowlock”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English ārlōc / rowlock

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