Plural of fid, a wooden or metal cone-shaped tool used by sailors and workers to separate rope fibers or to open up holes in fabric for splicing.
The word 'fid' likely comes from Old Norse or Low German origins related to pointed wooden implements. It has been used in nautical contexts since at least the 16th century as a specialized tool for rope work.
Sailors developed the fid as one of their most essential tools—it's basically the dental pick of the ocean, used to untangle the complex knots that held ships together. Without fids, age-of-sail ships literally couldn't have been maintained.
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