What is "spilling line"

Spill \Spill\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spilled, or Spilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling.] [OE. spillen,sually, to destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel. spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan. spilde, G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG. spildan.]

1. To destroy; to kill; to put an end to. [Obs.]

   And gave him to the queen, all at her will To choose whether she would him save or spill.
   --Chaucer.

   Greater glory think [it] to save than spill.
   --Spenser.

2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.]

   They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship.
   --Puttenham.

   Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day, in recreations.
   --Fuller.

3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel; to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or flour.

   Note: Spill differs from pour in expressing accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose.

4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted; to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a man spills another's blood, or his own blood.

   And to revenge his blood so justly spilt.
   --Dryden.

5. (Naut.) To relieve a sail from the pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled, or to lessen the strain.

   Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail.
   --Totten.