spritsail

American  

[sprit-seyl, sprit-suhl] / ˈsprɪtˌseɪl, ˈsprɪt səl /

noun

Nautical.

1. a sail extended by a sprit.

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spritsail British  

/ ˈsprɪtˌseɪl, ˈsprɪtsəl /

noun

1. a rectangular sail mounted on a sprit in some 19th-century small vessels

2. (in medieval rigging) a square sail mounted on a yard on the bowsprit

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Etymology

Origin of spritsail

1425–75; late Middle English sprete seyle ( see sprit, sail); compare Dutch sprietzeil

Example Sentences

The spritsail further helped her in this, for, if the curl of a sea under her forefoot brought her to larboard or starboard, the sail forced her back again.

From The Frozen Pirate by Russell, W. Clark (William Clark)

Part of the fore-topsail was wrapped like a shawl round the lee cat-head, while the rest hung down in festoons from the collar of the fore-stay to the spritsail yard-arm.

From The Lieutenant and Commander Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from Fragments of Voyages and Travels by Hall, Basil

Then, late in the afternoon, we hoisted our small spritsail and started.

From The Road by London, Jack

There's just enough to take us a mile or two down the beach over the tide with the spritsail set.

From The Boy Ranchers of Puget Sound by Bindloss, Harold

The spritsail was quilted with oakum and flax, and one of the top-gallant sails was prepared in the same manner, to see whether any thing would sink into the leak, but all in vain.

From Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities. by Anonymous