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definitions

mizzen

or miz·en

[miz-uh n]Nautical
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mizzen ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

hinder, last, reverse, behind, rearward, hind, posterior, tail, stern, following, postern, aft, after, astern, backward, hindmost, rearmost, dorsal, hindermost, retral

Nearby words

  1. mizoram,
  2. mizrachi,
  3. mizrah,
  4. mizuma,
  5. mizuna,
  6. mizzenmast,
  7. mizzle,
  8. mizzy maze,
  9. miño,
  10. miłosz

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for mizzen

British Dictionary definitions for mizzen

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 mizzen

mizzen

n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper