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

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.

From Thrice Armed by Bindloss, Harold

I concluded to take a boat, and procured of Frank Stanley a little row-boat, with a spritsail for running before the wind; for I intended to choose my own time for crossing.

From Adrift in the Ice-Fields by Hall, Charles W.

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

From Caribbee by Hoover, Thomas

The bowsprit formerly had one yard, called the spritsail yard.

From The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence by Mahan, A. T. (Alfred Thayer)

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.

From The Boy Ranchers of Puget Sound by Bindloss, Harold