backwind

[ bak-wind ]

verb (used with object),back·wind·ed, back·wind·ing.Nautical.

to divert wind against the lee side of (a sail) from another sail.
to set (a sail) so that the wind is on what would ordinarily be the lee side, as for turning the bow of a boat away from the wind.

to blanket (another sailing vessel) by spilling wind from the sails of one vessel onto the lee side of the sails of the other.

Origin of backwind

¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; back² + wind¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use backwind in a sentence

If you can have a face or back wind, it will be best; if you have an elbow-wind, you must give the land an extra half-bushel.
A Rose of a Hundred Leaves | Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Then the back-wind from the mainsail makes it impossible to keep the mizzen full unless it is sheeted very flat.
On Yachts and Yacht Handling | Thomas Fleming Day

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