plain sail

American  

noun

Nautical.

1. any of the ordinary working sails of a vessel.

2. all these sails, taken collectively.

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Etymology

Origin of plain sail

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

The wind came fair as the day wore on and by 10 p.m. we were under plain sail, doing a good six knots.

From South with Scott by Mountevans, Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, baron

An hour later the Farallone was under all plain sail, the rudder hard a-port, and the cheerfully-clanking windlass had brought the anchor home.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Stevenson, Robert Louis

When in line of battle, for the leading ship to carry as much sail as her commander judges the worst sailing ship can preserve her station with all her plain sail set.

From Fighting Instructions, 1530-1816 Publications Of The Navy Records Society Vol. XXIX. by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)

The cause of our sudden recall then became apparent, for standing in under all plain sail were three large ships.

From The Quest of the 'Golden Hope' A Seventeenth Century Story of Adventure by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

On turning to my log, I find that on the —, at dawn, we unmoored ship, and under all plain sail ran out of the river of Sierra Leone.

From Tales of the Sea And of our Jack Tars by Robertson, T.