Posts or cleats on a ship where ropes and cables are tied and secured; a fundamental part of a vessel's rigging equipment.
From Old Norse 'biti' (to bite), metaphorically describing how the posts 'bite' or grip the ropes; nautical terminology that entered English through Viking seafaring traditions.
Bitts are one of the oldest pieces of nautical equipment, essentially unchanged for centuries because they solve the problem so perfectly—strong vertical posts let sailors tie off massive loads with simple knots.
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