skysail

[ skahy-seyl; Nautical skahy-suhl ]

nounNautical.
  1. (in a square-rigged vessel) a light square sail next above the royal.

  2. a triangular sail set on a stay between the fore and main trucks of a racing schooner.

Origin of skysail

1
First recorded in 1820–30; sky + sail

Words Nearby skysail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use skysail in a sentence

  • Near to starboard was a white ship, fully rigged, standing towards the island with royals set, and even a towering main skysail.

    The Sea and the Jungle | H. M. Tomlinson
  • "It is the highest sail we set on the foremast, though larger vessels have a royal above that, then a skysail," I replied.

    Up the River | Oliver Optic
  • After my heroic feat in loosing the main-skysail, the mate entertained good hopes of my becoming a rare mariner.

    Redburn. His First Voyage | Herman Melville
  • In these, the topgallant, royal and skysail masts are all one stick.

    The Seaman's Friend | Richard Henry Dana
  • If there is not a standing skysail, the quarter-blocks on the royal yard will be single.

    The Seaman's Friend | Richard Henry Dana

British Dictionary definitions for skysail

skysail

/ (ˈskaɪˌseɪl) /


nounnautical
  1. a square sail set above the royal on a square-rigger

  2. a triangular sail set between the trucks of a racing schooner

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012