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topsail

American  
[top-seyl, top-suhl] / ˈtɒpˌseɪl, ˈtɒp səl /

noun

Nautical.

  1. a sail, or either of a pair of sails, set immediately above the lowermost sail of a mast and supported by a topmast.

topsail British  
/ ˈtɒpsəl, ˈtɒpˌseɪl /

noun

  1. a square sail carried on a yard set on a topmast

"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 topsail

First recorded in 1350–1400, topsail is from the Middle English word topseil. See top 1, 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.

You could see the topsail yard, that’s what you were asking about before, whether people climbed up there.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2017

If you noticed the yards, which are the crosspieces, the upper one of those has the topsail furled to it, and it is pretty much exactly like your childish imaginations.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2017

Justice Breyer swings in from the topsail, armed with a case from 1666.

From Slate • Feb. 29, 2012

Passing Eastern Point, Bluenose was five lengths ahead, hoisted along by her larger jib topsail.

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.