ROWLOCK

Row″lock (rō″lŏk colloq. rŭl″ŭk), n. [[For oarlock; AS. ārloc, where the second part is akin to G. loch a hole, E. lock a fastening. See Oar, and Lock.]] (Naut.) A contrivance or arrangement serving as a fulcrum for an oar in rowing. It consists sometimes of a notch in the gunwale of a boat, sometimes of a pair of pins between which the oar rests on the edge of the gunwale, sometimes of a single pin passing through the oar, or of a metal fork or stirrup pivoted in the gunwale and suporting the oar.