Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Ancorale

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

ANCORA'LE. The cable of an anchor, Liv. xxii. 19. Id. xxxvii. 30. See the preceding woodcut.

2. The buoy-rope (Plin. H.N. xvi. 16.) The buoy itself (σημεῖον ἀγκύρας. Paus. viii. 12. 1.) was made of cork, and was attached by means of the ancorale to a ring, which is seen at the bottom of the shank in the preceding illustration. While the buoy indicated the spot where the anchor lay, the rope which held it also served to draw the fluke out of the ground, when the anchor had to be raised.