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spritsail

[sprit-seyl, sprit-suhl]

noun

Nautical.
  1. a sail extended by a sprit.



spritsail

/ 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

“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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Word History and Origins

Origin of spritsail1

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A little drenched spritsail was spread from an insignificant mast, and four crouching figures with dusky faces were partly visible amidst the wisps of spray that whirled about her.

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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.

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They swept around it, and after skirting a half-seen, rocky beach ran with spritsail thrashing into a little basin down to which there crept rows of mist-wrapped trees.

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As the ship went in, one of the crew, named Henry Shergall, fell overboard as he was going into the spritsail top, and was drowned; on which account this was named Shergall's Harbour.'

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"Try hoisting the spritsail, John, and see if you can bring the bow about."

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