mooring

noun3

1. •
   A place to moor a vessel.

   • Then did the comet break loose from his moorings and the eclipse roamed about the sky, and down on the earth did Death’s three children—Famine, Pestilence, and Drought—come out to feed. — 1906
2. •
   (figurative) Something to which one adheres, or the means that helps one to maintain a stable position and keep one's identity - moral, intellectual, political, etc.

   • Friendship from its moorings strays, Love binds fast together; Friendship is for balmy days, Love for stormy weather. — 1898
3. •
   The act of securing a vessel with a cable or anchor etc.