1744, "ropes, etc., by which a floating thing is confined or made fast," from mooring. Figurative sense of "that to which anything is fastened or by which it is held" is by 1851.
Entries linking to moorings
mooring n.
early 15c., "action or process of making a ship secure in a particular place by means of anchors, cables, etc.," verbal noun from moor (v.). From 1775 as "place where a vessel can be moored" (compare moorings).