a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.
any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.
any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.
Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.
any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.
verb (used with object)
to provide with a mast or masts.
Idioms
before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.
Origin of mast
1
before 900;Middle English;Old Englishmæst; cognate with GermanMast; akin to Latinmālus pole
Related formsmast·less, adjectivemast·like, adjectiveun·der·mast·ed, adjective
mast
2
[mast, mahst]
noun
the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.
Origin of mast
2
before 900;Middle English;Old Englishmæst; cognate with GermanMast; akin to meat
"long pole on a ship to support the sail," Old English mæst, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (cf. Old Norse mastr, Middle Dutch maste, Dutch, Danish mast, German Mast), from PIE *mazdo- "a pole, rod" (cf. Latin malus "mast," Old Irish matan "club," Irish maide "a stick," Old Church Slavonic mostu "bridge"). The single mast of an old ship was the boundary between quarters of officers and crew, hence before the mast in the title of Dana's book, etc.
n.2
"fallen nuts; food for swine," Old English mæst, from Proto-Germanic *masto (cf. Dutch, Old High German, German mast "mast;" Old English verb mæsten "to fatten, feed"), perhaps from PIE *mad-sta-, from root *mad- "moist, wet," also used of various qualities of food (cf. Sanskrit madati "it bubbles, gladdens," medah "fat, marrow;" Latin madere "be sodden, be drunk;" Middle Persian mast "drunk;" Old English mete "food," Old High German muos "meal, mushlike food," Gothic mats "food").
