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 ( sprit, sail ); compare Dutch sprietzeil

Example Sentences

Our spritsail yard, broken in two places, dangled from the bowsprit; while our mainmast was splintered from the futtock-shrouds to within ten feet of the deck.

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

But in summer time the trade was also carried on by open spritsail boats of from eight to ten tons.

From King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 by Chatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble)

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

Our only squaresail was a spritsail at the main-yard to serve as a mainsail.

From Hurricane Hurry by Kingston, William Henry Giles

I wished to make all the northing that was possible, but there was nothing to be done in that way with the spritsail alone.

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