What is "to crown a knot"

Crown \Crown\ (kroun), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crowned (kround); p. pr. & vb. n. Crowning.] [OE. coronen, corunen, crunien, crounien, OF. coroner, F. couronner, fr. L. coronare, fr. corona a crown. See Crown, n.]

1. To cover, decorate, or invest with a crown; hence, to invest with royal dignity and power.

   Her who fairest does appear, Crown her queen of all the year.
   --Dryden.

   Crown him, and say, ``Long live our emperor.''
   --Shak.

2. To bestow something upon as a mark of honor, dignity, or recompense; to adorn; to dignify.

   Thou . . . hast crowned him with glory and honor.
   --Ps. viii. 5.

3. To form the topmost or finishing part of; to complete; to consummate; to perfect.

   Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill.
   --Byron.

   One day shall crown the alliance.
   --Shak.

   To crown the whole, came a proposition.
   --Motley.

4. (Mech.) To cause to round upward; to make anything higher at the middle than at the edges, as the face of a machine pulley.

5. (Mil.) To effect a lodgment upon, as upon the crest of the glacis, or the summit of the breach.

   To crown a knot (Naut.), to lay the ends of the strands over and under each other.