lugsail

American

[luhg-sayl, luhg-suhl] / ˈlʌgˌseɪl, ˈlʌg səl /

noun

Nautical.

a quadrilateral sail bent upon a yard that crosses the mast obliquely.

lugsail British

/ ˈlʌɡsəl, lʌɡ- /

noun

nautical a four-sided sail bent and hoisted on a yard

"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 lugsail

1670–80; Middle English lugge pole (now dial.; cf. log ¹) + sail

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.

See Examples For:

lugsail

We felt about, and found a lugsail and an oar.

From The Mate of the Lily Notes from Harry Musgrave's Log Book by Unknown

Didn't you have a bright, varnished boat with a teak topstrake and a red standing lugsail?

From The Wireless Officer by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

The lugsail rustled down, the mast was lowered.

From The League of the Leopard by Harold Bindloss

He was right: the lugsail was careering out to us and came alongside at length, and, after fearful trouble, got fastened to the Fingal.

From Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Daniel Turner Holmes

The light was growing each moment, the breeze dying fast, and presently the damp lugsail slatted against the mast.

From The League of the Leopard by Harold Bindloss

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