unsnatch
verbEtymology From un- + snatch.
1
To release or let go that which has been snatched or grabbed.
2
To retrieve something that was snatched.
- As soon as the royal sheeve-hole comes below the cap, pass the lizard, securing it with a couple of half hitches, and lower away through lubber's hole; land it on deck with the heel aft, unsnatch the mast-rope. In the mean time, the new mast has been cleared away , laid alongside the old one, and placed on the same slue; so, that directly the mast-rope is unsnatched, it can be snatched again without any deliberation, or fear of mistake; hitch the lizard, and sway away, easing the heel forward with a slip rope.1871, Alfred Henry Alston, William Henry Rosser, R. H. Harris, May (Staff-Commander.), Captain Alston's Seamanship, page 389: