Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The principal square sail hung to the foremast of a square-rigged vessel.
- noun The principal triangular sail hung to the mast of a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel.
- noun The triangular sail hung to the forestay of a cutter or sloop.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Nautical, in a square-rigged vessel, the sail bent to the foreyard; in a schooner, the fore-and-aft sail set on the foremast; in a sloop or cutter, the sail set on the forestay.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The sail bent to the foreyard of a square-rigged vessel, being the lowest sail on the foremast.
- noun The gaff sail set on the foremast of a schooner.
- noun The fore staysail of a sloop, being the triangular sail next forward of the mast.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nautical, on a square-rigged ship The lowest (and usually the largest)
square sail hung on theforemast - noun nautical A square
fore-and-aft sail set on the foremast, but behind it, on aschooner or other similar vessel. - noun nautical, on a sloop A triangular sail set forward of the
foremast
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the lowest sail on the foremast of a square-rigged vessel
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word foresail.
Examples
-
The awful volume of sound given out by the fierce, headlong swoop of the wind as it bore down upon us quite prepared me to see both masts blown clean out of the schooner; but all her gear fortunately happened to be sound and good, and the loss of the foresail was the full extent of the damage sustained by us.
The Pirate Slaver A Story of the West African Coast Harry Collingwood 1886
-
The foresail was a large one, and it almost becalmed the jib.
All Adrift or The Goldwing Club Oliver Optic 1859
-
In the morning we set our foresail, meaning to bear up to the northward, standing off and on to keep away from the current, which otherwise would have set us to the south, away from, all known land.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 Robert Kerr 1784
-
The cheerful sailor crept forward and jibed over the foresail as Charley put the helm to starboard and we swerved to the right into the San Joaquin.
Charley's Coup 2010
-
Take in the foresail — it's more than she can carry already — and stand by to wear her around.
-
The air was thick with flying wreckage, detached ropes and stays were hissing and coiling like snakes, and down through it all crashed the gaff of the foresail.
Chapter 17 2010
-
We had been under lower-topsails and a reefed foresail all night.
CHAPTER XXXVIII 2010
-
It was a clumsy way, but it did not take long, and soon the foresail as well was up and fluttering.
Chapter 39 2010
-
The foresail and fore-topsail, emptied of the wind by the manoeuvre, and with no one to bring in the sheet in time, were thundering into ribbons, the heavy boom threshing and splintering from rail to rail.
Chapter 17 2010
-
Grief ordered the foresail put on, retaining the reefs, and the Uncle
chained_bear commented on the word foresail
Usage on duck up.
October 14, 2008