mizzen

or miz·en

[miz-uh n]Nautical

noun

a fore-and-aft sail set on a mizzenmast.Compare crossjack, spanker(def 1a).
mizzenmast.

adjective

of or relating to a mizzenmast.
noting a sail, yard, boom, etc., or any rigging belonging to a mizzen lower mast or to some upper mast of a mizzenmast.
noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a mizzen lower mast or some specified upper mast of a mizzenmast: mizzen topmast stay.

Origin of mizzen

1375–1425; late Middle English meson, mesan, probably < Italian mezzana

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mizen

Historical Examples of mizen

She was leaning against the mizen shrouds, between the coils of rope.
Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From Home
Bayard Taylor
At midnight, orders were given to furl the fore and mizen topsails.
The Nigger Of The "Narcissus"
Joseph Conrad
The crew were seen in the mizen rigging, frantically waving.
The Shellback's Progress
Walter Runciman
To bagpipe the mizen is to lay it aback, by bringing the sheet to the mizen-shrouds.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
The flags borne on the mizen were particularly called gallants.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for mizen

mizzen

mizen

nautical

noun

a sail set on a mizzenmast
short for mizzenmast

adjective

of or relating to any kind of gear used with a mizzenmasta mizzen staysail

Word Origin for mizzen

C15: from French misaine, from Italian mezzana, mezzano middle

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 mizen

mizzen

early 15c., from Middle French misaine "foresail, foremast," altered (by influence of Italian mezzana "mizzen") from Old French migenne, from Catalan mitjana, from Latin medianus "of the middle" (see median). Klein suggests the French word is from Arabic, via Italian.