Lăn’yard, n.

[Written also laniard; from Fr. lanière, thong, strap.] 1. (Naut.) A short piece of rope or line for fastening something in ships; as, the lanyards of the gun-ports, of the buoy, and the like; but especially used to extend the shrouds and stays of the masts by their communication with the dead-eyes, &c. Totten. 2. (Mil.) A piece of strong twine, twelve feet long, with an iron hook at one end, used in firing cannon with a friction-tube.