Knot (kn)

Modern equivalent

1.15078 mph

One nautical mile per hour, originating from counting knots on a ship’s log-line.

Sailors historically tossed a knotted rope trailing a floating block of wood into the sea, counting how many knots slipped through their fingers in a set timeframe to determine ship speed.

We use a small number of essential cookies to remember your theme preference and your recent conversions. Those are always on, because the site cannot work without them.

We would also like to use Google Analytics to understand which pages people find useful. That is entirely optional, and declining changes nothing about how the site works for you. Read the cookie policy.