spanker

American  

[spang-ker] / ˈspæŋ kər /

noun

1. Nautical.

   1. a fore-and-aft sail on the aftermost lower mast of a sailing vessel having three or more masts.

   2. a designation given to the mast abaft a mizzenmast, usually the aftermost mast in any vessel.

2. Informal. a smartly moving person or animal, especially a fast horse.

3. Chiefly New England. something remarkably fine.

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adjective

Nautical.

1. of or relating to a spanker mast or its rigging.

spanker British  

/ ˈspæŋkə /

noun

1. nautical a fore-and-aft sail or a mast that is aftermost in a sailing vessel

2. informal a person or animal that moves at a quick smart pace

3. informal something outstandingly fine or large

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Etymology

Origin of spanker

First recorded in 1745–55; akin to spanking

Example Sentences

“Let’s set the spanker, I just want to see what happens!” calls the skipper, excited like a Christmas-morning child.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2016

And, yes, a spanker of behinds when the owners of said behinds got too outrageously out of line.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 19, 2014

Get a small pull of the spanker sheet!

From Latitude 19 degree A Romance of the West Indies in the Year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty by Crowninshield, Mrs. Schuyler

They’ve got the idea they’re h’isting the mains’l, but it ain’t nothing but the spanker.

From Captain Pott's Minister by Cooper, Francis L. (Francis Le Roy)

Hove-to, with only her spanker, close-reefed main-topsail and fore-staysail set, there was a chance of keeping her off the coast till the sea should quiet down enough to allow of a jury rudder being rigged.

From Beggars on Horseback by Jesse, F. Tennyson (Fryniwyd Tennyson)