jackstay
Americannoun
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a rod or batten, following a yard, gaff, or boom, to which one edge of a sail is bent.
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a rail for guiding the movement of the hanks of a sail.
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a transverse stay for stiffening a mast having a gaff sail, coming downward and outward from the head of the mast, passing over a spreader at the level of the gaff, then inclining inward to the mast again near the foot.
noun
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a metal rod, wire rope, or wooden batten to which an edge of a sail is fastened along a yard
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a support for the parrel of a yard
Etymology
Origin of jackstay
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The jackstay was torn from his grasp, and he fell, face downward, into the black void beneath.
From "Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Stories of the Sea by Morgan Robertson
A second later my feet were again on the foot rope, and my hands fastened for dear life to the jackstay.
From The Blood Ship by Norman Springer
I had traced out bit by bit, until now I could clearly see the jackstay, running along the top of the royal mast; and, you know, the royal itself was set.
From The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson
At his touch, as though by magic, the young fellow calmed down, and Stubbins—reaching round him—grasped the jackstay on the other side.
From The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson
I put my left arm round the Ordinary's body—getting hold of the jackstay on the other side.
From The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson
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.
