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headsail

American  
[hed-seyl, hed-suhl] / ˈhɛdˌseɪl, ˈhɛd səl /

noun

Nautical.

  1. any of various jibs or staysails set forward of the foremost mast of a vessel.

  2. any sail set on a foremast, especially on a vessel having three or more masts.

headsail British  
/ ˈhɛdˌseɪl, ˈhɛdsəl /

noun

  1. any sail set forward of the foremast

"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

Etymology

Origin of headsail

First recorded in 1620–30; head + sail

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.