mizzen

or miz·en

[ miz-uh n ]

/ ˈmɪz ən /

Nautical

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.

Nearby words

mizoguchi, mizoram, mizrachi, mizrah, mizuna, mizzen, mizzenmast, mizzle, mizzy maze, miño, 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

We laid him in the bottom of the boat and covered him with the mizzen sail.
Carette of Sark|John Oxenham
How frequently you see a yawl on the wind with her mizzen all a-shiver.
On Yachts and Yacht Handling|Thomas Fleming Day
The studding sails were hauled in, and the main royal and fore and mizzen top-gallant sails furled.
Jack in the Forecastle|John Sherburne Sleeper
All night the Agra showed three lights at her mizzen peak for him, and kept a sharp lookout.
Sea Stories|Various

The fore and main tops are sent up from abaft, and the mizzen from forward.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana

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