martingale

[ mahr-tn-geyl ]

/ ˈmɑr tnˌgeɪl /

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noun

Also called standing martingale. part of the tack or harness of a horse, consisting of a strap that fastens to the girth, passes between the forelegs and through a loop in the neckstrap or hame, and fastens to the noseband: used to steady or hold down the horse's head.

Also called running martingale. a similar device that divides at the chest into two branches, each ending in a ring through which the reins pass.

Nautical. a stay for a jib boom or spike bowsprit.

a system of gambling in which the stakes are doubled or otherwise raised after each loss.

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Origin of martingale

1580–90; <Middle French: kind of hose fastened at the back, allegedly <Provençal martegalo, feminine of martegal, inhabitant of Martigue, town in SE France, though sense apparently influenced by Spanish almártaga harness <Arabic al-martaʿah the vein

Words nearby martingale

Martineau, Martinelli, martinet, Martinez, Martínez Ruiz, martingale, martini, Martinican, Martini-Henry, Martinique, Martin IV

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use martingale in a sentence

"Spikes your excellent father left sticking out of his martingale," he said, a sort of boyish resentment in his tones.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day
It comes with the onset of a "bergy-bit" which smashes the martingale as it plunges into a deep trough.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
Martingale: A short spar under the bowsprit, used to give more spread to the stays that set the bowsprit or jib-boom down.
The Sportswoman's Library, v. 2|Various
That devil of a chevalier has found an infallible martingale, he says; but it requires funds to start it.
Brother Jacques (Novels of Paul de Kock, Volume XVII)|Charles Paul de Kock

She'd swung herself up into the martingale, an' there she'd squatted all the afternoon until we was out o' sight o' land.
Captain Scraggs|Peter B. Kyne

British Dictionary definitions for martingale

martingale

/ (ˈmɑːtɪnˌɡeɪl) /

noun

a strap from the reins to the girth of a horse preventing it from carrying its head too high

any gambling system in which the stakes are raised, usually doubled, after each loss

Also called: martingale boom nautical

a chain or cable running from a jib boom to the dolphin striker, serving to counteract strain
another term for dolphin striker

Word Origin for martingale

C16: from French, of uncertain origin

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