A metal fitting or plate attached to a ship's hull to which the chainwork of the rigging is fastened.
From English 'chain' + 'plate' (from French 'plat', meaning flat). A nautical term that became standard in sailing and shipbuilding, likely 17th-18th centuries.
Chainplates are where a ship's soul meets its structure—they're the tiny metal connections that translate a sailor's hand-pulling on ropes into the massive forces that move wooden ships through oceans.
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