Englisch Lexikon: sea anchor

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sea anchor		Drag \Drag\, n. [See {Drag}, v. t., and cf. {Dray} a cart, and 1st {Dredge}.] 1. The act of dragging; anything which is dragged. [1913 Webster] 2. A net, or an apparatus, to be drawn along the bottom under water, as in fishing, searching for drowned persons, etc. [1913 Webster] 3. A kind of sledge for conveying heavy bodies; also, a kind of low car or handcart; as, a stone drag. [1913 Webster] 4. A heavy coach with seats on top; also, a heavy carriage. [Collog.] --Thackeray. [1913 Webster] 5. A heavy harrow, for breaking up ground. [1913 Webster] 6. (a) Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; esp., a canvas bag with a hooped mouth, so used. See {Drag sail} (below). (b) Also, a skid or shoe, for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel. (c) Hence, anything that retards; a clog; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment. [1913 Webster] My lectures were only a pleasure to me, and no drag. --J. D. Forbes. [1913 Webster] 7. Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. ``Had a drag in his walk.'' -- Hazlitt. [1913 Webster] 8. (Founding) The bottom part of a flask or mold, the upper part being the cope. [1913 Webster] 9. (Masonry) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone. [1913 Webster] 10. (Marine Engin.) The difference between the speed of a screw steamer under sail and that of the screw when the ship outruns the screw; or between the propulsive effects of the different floats of a paddle wheel. See Citation under {Drag}, v. i., 3. [1913 Webster] {Drag sail} (Naut.), a sail or canvas rigged on a stout frame, to be dragged by a vessel through the water in order to keep her head to the wind or to prevent drifting; -- called also {drift sail}, {drag sheet}, {drag anchor}, {sea anchor}, {floating anchor}, etc. {Drag twist} (Mining), a spiral hook at the end of a rod for cleaning drilled holes. [1913 Webster]