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SPRITSAIL
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Dictionary entry overview: What does spritsail mean?
• SPRITSAIL (noun)
The noun SPRITSAIL has 1 sense:
1. a fore-and-aft sail extended by a sprit
Familiarity information: SPRITSAIL used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A fore-and-aft sail extended by a sprit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("spritsail" is a kind of...):
fore-and-aft sail (any sail not set on a yard and whose normal position is in a fore-and-aft direction)
Meronyms (parts of "spritsail"):
sprit (a light spar that crosses a fore-and-aft sail diagonally)
Context examples
I came on deck to find the Ghost heading up close on the port tack and cutting in to windward of a familiar spritsail close-hauled on the same tack ahead of us.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
The spritsail flapped emptily and the boat righted to an even keel, causing the two men swiftly to change position.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
The deserted boat was in the trough of the sea, rolling drunkenly across each comber, its loose spritsail out at right angles to it and fluttering and flapping in the wind.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
The spritsail filled with the wind, suddenly, careening the frail open craft till it seemed it would surely capsize.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
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