† halstern.
Obsolete. rare. Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
= halsier n.First found in Kersey's ed. of Phillips as a variant of the latter's halsier, and hence in various dictionaries; of the statement of Halliwell and Smyth, that it is a west-country term, no confirmation has been found.
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society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > associated shore-based personnel > [noun] > one who tows ships by rope
halsier1585
halster1706
tracker1817
hobbler1838
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Halsier, a term in Navigation, he that draws the Halser or Cable wherewith boats are towed along some Channel.]
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Halsier, or Halster.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Halsier, halster.
1731–1800 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Halser, halster.
1775 J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang. Halster.
1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Halster..West.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Halster, a west-country term for a man who draws a barge along by a rope.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.1706