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spritsail

[ sprit-seyl; Nautical sprit-suhl ]
/ ˈsprɪtˌseɪl; Nautical ˈsprɪt səl /
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noun Nautical.

a sail extended by a sprit.

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Origin of spritsail

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

Words nearby spritsail

sprint, sprint medley, sprit, sprite, sprite crab, spritsail, spritz, spritzer, spritzig, sproat, sprocket
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for spritsail

British Dictionary definitions for spritsail

spritsail
/ (ˈsprɪtˌseɪl, nautical ˈsprɪtsəl) /

noun nautical

a rectangular sail mounted on a sprit in some 19th-century small vessels
(in medieval rigging) a square sail mounted on a yard on the bowsprit
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
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