main-topsail
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of main-topsail
First recorded in 1610–20
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 second mate gave the necessary orders; the main-topsail yard settled down upon the cap; the fore-staysail sheets were let fly, and the sail flapping heavily was hauled down and secured.
From The Ruined Cities of Zululand by Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley
Just then we were making fourteen knots, with only a foresail, a fore-topsail, and main-topsail, the latter two close-reefed.
From Medical Life in the Navy by Gordon Stables
"This afternoon, ma'am," said the captain, as if it were the ay, ay, sir, of an able seaman who sprang to his duty of reefing the main-topsail.
From Strangers and Wayfarers by Sarah Orne Jewett
By the time that the remains of the burst main-topsail had been unbent, and the new sail brought on deck, it was eight bells, and all hands were set to work to bend the sail.
From Dick Leslie's Luck A Story of Shipwreck and Adventure by Harold Piffard
The "Pegasus" now shoots ahead, bidding fair to overhaul the corvettes, but her ambition is speedily curbed by the springing of her main-topsail yard.
From In Eastern Seas Or, the Commission of H.M.S. 'Iron Duke,' flag-ship in China, 1878-83 by J. J. Smith
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