nock

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

nock, n. [See Notch.].

•  A notch.  [1913 Webster]

  "He took his arrow by the nock."  [1913 Webster]
•  The upper fore corner of a boom sail or of a trysail.  [1913 Webster]

nock, v. t. 

 To notch; to fit to the string, as an arrow; to string, as a bow.  Chapman.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

nock, n. & v.
--n.
1 a notch at either end of a bow for holding the string.
2 a a notch at the butt-end of an arrow for receiving the bowstring. b a notched piece of horn serving this purpose.
--v.tr. set (an arrow) on the string.

Etymology

ME, perh. = nock forward upper corner of some sails, f. MDu. nocke