lateen

[ la-teen, luh- ]

/ læˈtin, lə- /

adjective

pertaining to or having a lateen sail or sails.

Nearby words

Origin of lateen

1720–30; < French (voile) latine Latin (sail)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lateen

And the lateen spread both her great wings like an albatross, and leaped and plunged, and flew before the mighty gale.
Love Me Little, Love Me Long|Charles Reade
A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The typical Mediterranean mast of “lateen” (Latin) vessels is short and bends forward.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 7|Various
I will take the simplest, the most natural, the most beautiful of sails,—the lateen sail of the Mediterranean.
Love's Meinie|John Ruskin

He was sitting disconsolate in the cockpit of the lateen Esmeralda.
The Pursuit|Frank (Frank Mackenzie) Savile

British Dictionary definitions for lateen

lateen

/ (ləˈtiːn) /

adjective

nautical denoting a rig with a triangular sail (lateen sail) bent to a yard hoisted to the head of a low mast, used esp in the Mediterranean

Word Origin for lateen

C18: from French voile latine Latin sail

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

Word Origin and History for lateen

lateen

mid-18c., phonetic spelling of French latine in voile latine, literally "Latin sail" (see Latin). So called because it was used in the Mediterranean.