m. [from hefja, to heave; from this Norse word are no doubt derived the Engl. to haul and halyard, ‘hel’ or ‘hal’ being contracted from hefill], a naut. term, the clew-lines and bunt-lines of a sail; láta síðan síga ór heflum (to unfurl the sail), ok sækja eptir þeim, Fb. iii. 563; lét hann þá hleypa ór heflunum segli á skeiðinni, Ó. H. 182 (Fb. l. c. homlu wrongly); N. G. L. i. 199 distinguishes between hefill, sviptingr (reefs), hanki (blocks): hefil-skapt, n. a boat-hook to pull the sail down; þá þreif Ingimundr hefilskapt ok vildi kippa ofan, Bs. i. 422: hefla-skurðr, m. = heflan, q. v.; mínka skal sigling með hálsan ok heflaskurð, N. G. L. i. 282.

II. a plane, (mod., from Germ. hobel.)