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Webster 1913 Edition
lateen sail
lateen sail
Noun.
[F. voile
latine
a sail in the shape of a right-angled triangle; cf. It. & Sp. vela latina
; properly Latin
sail. See Latin
.] (Naut.)
A triangular sail, extended by a long yard, which is slung at about one fourth of its length from the lower end, to a low mast, this end being brought down at the tack, while the other end is elevated at an angle or about forty-five degrees; – used in small boats, feluccas, xebecs, etc., especially in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters. Some lateen sails have also a boom on the lower side.