Any idea of the relationship of yaw to awl to yawl? They are all nautical terms, probably of Dutch derivation, but...?
I wouldn't exactly call awl a nautical term. AHD4 says it's probably a blend of Old English æl, 'awl', and awel, 'hook'. Yaw it says is "Perhaps of Scandinavian origin" and yawl is from Dutch jol possibly from Low German jolle.
Welcome to the fray, fredw!
Looking at a bunch of online dictionaries I don't find any relationship at all, nor do I find a Dutch connection for yaw or awl (possibly for yawl), nor is awl specifically nautical, but it's an interesting speculation. May I ask your sources for a link?
Peter
Sorry, Faldage, I was looking stuff up when you posted.
Sorry, Faldage, I was looking stuff up when you posted.
No problem. I was looking stuff up, too. I just happened to pull the trigger before you did.
I hear the word YAW used with reference to flying dynamics.
If you imagine a ship with the x-axis running the length of the ship, the y-axis horizontally athwart-ships, and the z-axis up and down, rotation about the x-axis is called roll, rotation about the y-axis is pitch, and rotation about the z-axis yaw.
Gotcha, yup I do. Really!
Roll is felt as an actual angular change in the deck beneath your feet. Pitch is felt as a change in your apparent weight. It is more noticeable the farther you get from the middle of the ship, most noticeable in the bow or stern. Yaw isn't felt at all, except possibly by whoever is on the wheel.
I think the same in the nose of a passenger 747 as well.
I sat in lst class once, and it was terrible.
rotation about the z-axis yaw. Um...if the ship is in dead calm water, with the bow and the stern facing north and south, then yaw would mean that the displacement stays the same but the ends are moving towards NNE + SSW or NNW + SSE? Staying (more or less) on the same plane but pointing in a different direction?
Oh, WAY cool! Thanks. I love the internet!