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staysail

American

[stey-seyl, stey-suhl] / ˈsteɪˌseɪl, ˈsteɪ səl /

noun

Nautical.

any sail set on a stay, as a triangular sail between two masts.

staysail British

/ ˈsteɪˌseɪl, ˈsteɪsəl /

noun

an auxiliary sail, often triangular, set to catch the wind, as between the masts of a yawl ( mizzen staysail ), aft of a spinnaker ( spinnaker staysail ), etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of staysail

First recorded in 1660–70; stay ³ + sail

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.

There is the jib tussle, then the jib, then the staysail, then the foresail, then the mainsail.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2017

Isabel and the Sea will make even a coal miner imagine himself "running free under number-two jib, staysail, mainsail, and mizzen . . . setting course for the volcanic island of Stromboli."

From Time Magazine Archive

The only reminder to the immense stresses came when a staysail sheet snapped with a bang.

From Time Magazine Archive

"With a fantastic gut-wrenching splitting sound, the staysail plummeted to deck for the second time today," said Sophie Luther.

From Time Magazine Archive

The staysail was blown to ribbons; the main topsail, split earing to earing.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023