knotters

Noun

knotter (plural knotters)

1. A person who makes knots.
   • This was Jai, the expert lace-knotter […]1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, published 2001, Part One, Chapter 5
2. A machine or device that makes knots.
   • One of the most important inventions, one that was received with acclaim by the American manufacturer, and one which actually reduced his labor cost on spooling no less than ten per cent. at one clip, is a tiny little thing that is held in the palm of the hand. This is the Barber knotter. When a...1919, The Fabric of Civilization: A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United States, Guaranty Trust Company of New York (author not credited), Chapter 8, pp. 54-55
3. (pulp and paper) A screen used to remove “knots” or impurities from wood pulp in the process of making paper.
   • […] the pulp is strained by means of a sieve or “knotter” as it is called, which is usually formed of brass, having fine slits cut in it to allow the comminuted pulp to pass through, while it retains all lumps and knots […]1863, Richard Herring, chapter 2, in Paper and Paper Making, Ancient and Modern, 3rd edition, page 87
4. (in-compounds) A vessel capable of reaching a specified speed in knots.
   • His hon. and gallant friend raised the question as to the two classes of destroyers, one for ocean work and the other for work in narrow waters. It was not true to say that the new twenty-five-and-a-half “knotters” had proved inferior to the old thirty “knotters.” In anything like dirty weather the...1905, Hansard, “Navy Estimates,” 13 March, 1905
5. (in-compounds) A wind blowing at a specified velocity in knots.
   • “See how the canvass unfurls itself like great white wings, and spreads its volumes upon the air. The wind is a strong eight-knotter, and will give her a firm headway for Tom’s purpose.”1847, Joseph Holt Ingraham, The Surf Skiff; or, The Heroine of Kennebec, New York: R. M. De Witt, published 1867, page 55