Noose Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Don’t know what noose means? Don’t worry — everything you need to know about what noose means, its linguistic origins, and how to use it in everyday conversation is right here! 

What Does Noose Mean?

The most common definition for noose (pronounced nuːs) in the English dictionary is a specific kind of loop with a knot that is typically used to either hang people or create traps for animals. 

Nooses are made from a long rope or cord with a loop at the end of it. When there is pressure put onto the loop, the knot tightens and makes it harder for the subject trapped inside the loop to escape. This is why the noose was highly favored by executioners and trappers for many centuries. 

A similar definition of the word noose is metaphorical. In the same way that an adjustable loop of rope restrains a subject and makes it difficult to escape, people use the word noose to describe situations that are uncomfortable and difficult to leave. 

For example, if someone feels like they are in a tight situation that is restraining them, they might say that they are “noosed.” 

Where Does the Word Noose Come From?

The etymology of the word noose is fairly typical of many words in the English language. Its origins can be found in the Latin nōdus or node, which transitioned over time into the old French nos or nou, and gradually became the word noose. 

For a few centuries, there was debate around the proper way to spell the word, with various spelling ranging from nus to noos. Eventually, the spelling was officially determined to be noose around the 15th century. 

Even after the official spelling was decided, the noose was still commonly referred to using other translations, such as the Latin nodus and provençal nous, as well as the Middle English nose, nous knot, running bowline, and Tarbuck knot. 

Throughout the centuries, the noose has undergone many different evolutions. However, almost all of these versions involved a loop knot at the end of a rope that was used for hanging. 

Initially, most nooses were fairly similar to the end of a lasso and involved less emphasis around a tightening knot. As time went on, the tying of a slipknot became more developed, and the hangman’s halter or hangman’s knot was created. 

In terms of hunting, nooses were used to snare animals in traps so they wouldn’t be able to escape. Trappers used a slip noose as the end of a cord to trap small mammals like rabbits or beavers so that they could make use of the resources that they provided. 

Typically, these nooses would be set and left to place their binds around animals, then routinely checked to see if they had worked. 

How Were Nooses Used?

For several thousand years, hanging was seen as the most humane way to execute people due to the quick and mostly painless death it provided. The hangman’s rope, often referred to as a “hempen necktie” (because most ropes were made from hemp at the time), was something that many criminals would have to face at the end of their lives. 

The noose was used in hanging by creating an oval shape loop at the end of a rope in which the knot slid into a tightened position when there was pressure put upon it. 

When a body was put into the noose and dropped, the knot would clench and clinch, applying quick and intense pressure to the person’s neck. This would almost always create an instant death due to the pressure on a person’s spine. 

As a hunting tool, the noose was used as a slip knot. Generally, a hunter would put a small slip noose on the ground next to some bait for the hunted animal to find. When the bait was taken, the noose would tighten around the animal through a pulley system, capturing the animal. 

The Noose in American History

American noose usage has a dark and triggering history.

For many years, the noose was used in lynchings. This was an evil and racist practice used to harm or kill Black Americans. Shamefully, it took until 2020 for the United States to expressly make lynching illegal, and lynchings still occur within the U.S.

As time has gone on, hanging has become illegal and unused in most of the modern world, including America and the UK. For most of the world, hanging is an execution process that lives entirely in the past. 

For more information on the history of the noose, historian Jack Shuler has written the book “Thirteenth Turn: A History of the Noose.” He details its history from the beginning of the United States all the way through its usage for intimidation in Jena, Louisiana, in 2006. 

Using the Word Noose Metaphorically

The world noose is sometimes used as a metaphor in the modern world. It has been used to describe difficult situations by many popular communications outlets, including the New York Times and Washington Post. 

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language now identifies one of the most prominent definitions of the word as one that uses the original meaning as a metaphor. However, you may want to stay away from using this particular term to avoid its triggering associations.

Here are some example usages of the word noose: 

• This small town has been trying to escape its financial noose for decades. 
• I’ve been noosed into this life by my own decisions as a teenager. 
• I keep on trying to get out, but this job has me noosed. 
• My medical expenses have been like a noose around my neck for the past several years. 
• If you listen to his bad advice, you might be putting your head right into a noose. 

Now you know how to use the word noose literally and metaphorically, the dark history of the noose, and the word’s linguistic origins. 

Sources: 

1. The Thirteenth Turn: A History of the Noose by Jack Shuler | Goodreads
2. noose | Etymology, origin and meaning of noose | Etymonline
3. Hempen necktie | The Free Dictionary