Interrupting our ongoing discourse on good luck knots, I’m going back to basics with an illustration of terms used to describe various cord parts and configurations.

In this definition I have tried to be as formal and precise as possible. Alas that I can’t really maintain that level of precision in the rest of my writings. In particular I use “loop” altogether too often…

Standing End, Fixed End, or Bitter End

the end of the cord that receives the least amount of manipulation, perhaps it is heavily embellished or perhaps it is fixed to something.

Working End, Running End, or Live End

the end of the cord that is actively involved in making the knot or interlacing

Standing Part

part of the cord between the knot and the standing end

Working Part

part of the cord between the knot and the working end

Working Length

the amount of cord required to comfortably tie a knot versus the amount of cord required by the tied knot can vary greatly. The working length is the amount of cord required to tie the knot.

Bight

an open loop, a curved section in the cord that does not cross itself

Tied in the Bight

tying a knot by folding the cord and using a bight as the working end

Elbows

two cord segments that cross at two points

Underhand Loop

a closed loop where the working end passes under the standing part

Overhand Loop

a closed loop where the working end passes over the standing part

Turn

where the cord folds over or passes through an object

Round Turn

where the cord encircles an object, sometimes called two turns.

Double x knot

a larger version of the x knot, it's next logical progression. Where applicable, there can be triple, quadruple, quintuple, etc.

Doubled x knot

running a parallel line through knot x to add a decorative element. Similarly the knot x can be tripled, quadrupled, quintupled, etc.