A sliding bar or bolt used to fasten a door or gate from the inside; a traditional Japanese door lock.
At night, I slide the bolt on the front door.
The old storehouse door had a large bar latch.
double-arm lock
Sumo term: a hold in which the wrestler locks both of the opponent's arms.
He forced his opponent out of the ring with a double-arm lock.
cinching; tightening a rope
Rare, specialized use: the act of cinching or tightening a rope, often in traditional contexts.
If the final cinching of the rope is loose, the load will come undone during transport.
bar tack; reinforcing stitch across a seam
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 閂 and 貫木 are rare and mainly encountered in historical or technical contexts.
Rare kanji form; not commonly used in modern writing.
Rare kanji form; not commonly used in modern writing.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The word is native Japanese, and the kanji 閂 is a kokuji (Japanese-created character) combining 門 (gate) and 一 (one/bar), representing a bar across a gate.