sprit

[ sprit ]

nounNautical.
  1. a small pole or spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally from the mast to the upper aftermost corner, serving to extend the sail.

Origin of sprit

1
before 900; Middle English spret,Old English sprēot; cognate with Dutch, German Spriet; akin to sprout

Words Nearby sprit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sprit in a sentence

  • I shall rig a new sprit; there's the boat-hook, which will make a very good one; it is just the right length.

    Little By Little | William Taylor Adams
  • First he repaired the worn-out sail, then made a new sprit, and refitted the tiller to the rudder head.

    Little By Little | William Taylor Adams
  • The goodwife was stirring the soup, and the goodman plaiting sprit-binnings for the cows.

British Dictionary definitions for sprit

sprit

/ (sprɪt) /


noun
  1. nautical a light spar pivoted at the mast and crossing a fore-and-aft quadrilateral sail diagonally to the peak

Origin of sprit

1
Old English spreot; related to Old High German spriuzen to support, Dutch spriet sprit, Norwegian sprӯta

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