What is the etymology of the term 'mariner's knot'.  It is a knot used
by climbers and rescue personnel to relieve tension on a line.  But I
have not been able to find the original use of the knot, whether
nautical or other.

What a wonderful question, particularly for an old Navy man. 

I looked for the longest time and have been unable to find THE answer
- although it seems clear that in securing masts, downrigging, etc.,
as well as certain mooring lines, that the Mariners' Knot would be
ideal - indeed necessary - since it could be untied under tension by
the mere removal of a fid or belaying pin or other such straight line
object.

Not this is bugging me and I will spend half the day tomorrow on it!

Great question.
weisstho-ga

Even as a former Girl Scout leader, I have absolutely no idea what the
precise origin of the term 'mariner's knot' may be. I hope to find
out.

But I wanted to step in here for a moment to say how thrilled I am to
see someone using the word 'etymology' in a proper manner. :-)

Once, in an online forum, I mentioned that etymology was one of my
hobbies, and the next few emails I got were technical questions about
insects.

I wonder if this only deals with the 
ring style?

"Legend has it that the True Lovers Knot or Mariner's knot was the
result of a Sailor's desire to retain the affection and attention of
his beau by giving her this knot, which if left in its original form
over the duration of his voyage, and upon his return he finds it so,
he still has a chance at her heart. albeit on a probationary mode.

This knot by it's nature if fiddled with, will change it's form to
look like a cross with four loops. If our sailor returned to the knot
in this form, he'd better get on his knees and woo extra hard, cause
she needs to be worked for if he is to ever have a chance."

[ http://www.foreverafter.com.au/Rings.htm ]
At the bottom


-AI

btw, that was funny pinkfreud... can you tell me
about this beetle? hehehe

I'm a fireman and we have a tendency to act like we know we are doing
when, we are the only ones crazy enough to do anything.  As a result,
we adopt all kinds of terms, standards, methods that have no basis in
fact or reality, they just work for us.  The term mariner's knot is
another of this type of adoption.  When I train new firemen, i
encourage them to understand what they are doing, not just regurgitate
what is taught.  As a result, I asked one of our new firemen where the
term mariner's knot originated; knowing, full-well, that I could find
it myself, if needed.  Now I am embarrased (and I lost a round of
lattes at Starbucks as a result) because I can't find the answer.  I
hope this method works, before one of these whippersnappers figures it
out before me.

I found this.  It refers to knot in the distance-measuring sense, but
I believe this could be the actual origin since a length of twine with
knots was used by mariners to measure the distance.

Knot

The term knot or nautical mile, is used world-wide to denote one's
speed through the water. Today, we measure knots with electronic
devices, but 200 years ago, such devices were unknown. Ingenious
mariners devised a speed-measuring device both easy to use and
reliable, the "log line." From this method, we get the term "knot."
The log line was a length of twine marked at 47.33 foot intervals by
colored knots. At one end a log chip was fastened; it was shaped like
the sector of a circle and weighted at the rounded end with lead. When
thrown over the stern, it would float pointing upward and would remain
relatively stationary. The log line was allowed to run free over the
side for 28 seconds and then hauled on board. Knots which had passed
over the side were counted. In this way, the ship's speed was
measured.

http://www.nautilus571.com/naval_terms.htm

trc-ga

It occurs to me that the origin of the term 'mariner's knot' may 'not'
refer
to a specific knot, so much as being a collective term, referring to
any number
of knots used by mariners.

This is supported by the following cached site, which describes "The
Monkey's
Fist - A Mariner's Knot"
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:URAjdlkAgiUC:www.geocities.com/brennan_51/ChaMonkeyFist.doc+%22mariner%27s+knot%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

The best knot site I've ever found is at:
http://www.realknots.com/

They have an alphabetical index, with no specific listing for
"Mariner's Knot".


Searches used, via Google:

"mariner's knot"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22mariner%27s+knot%22

Regards, 

sublime1-ga