ETYM Cf. Dan. hank handle, Swed. hank a band or tie, Icel. hanki hasp, clasp, hönk, hangr, hank, coil, skein, German henkel, henk, handle; all prob. akin to Eng. hang. Related to Hang.
Loops of rope or wool or yarn.
Series of rings or clips for attaching a jib or staysail to a stay.

ETYM Cf. French pli, from plier. Related to Ply.
1. One of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination: or.
2. Usually used in combination; one of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood.

1. Coils of worsted yarn.
2. Something suggesting the twists or coils of a skein; tangle
3. A flock of wildfowl (as geese or ducks) in flight

1. A complex of fibers or filaments that are twisted together to form a thread or a rope or a cable.
2. A pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole
3. A poetic term for a shore (as the area periodically covered and uncovered by the tides).