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Webster 1913 Edition

Sail

Sail

,
Noun.
[OE.
seil
, AS.
segel
,
segl
; akin to D.
zeil
, OHG.
segal
, G. & Sw.
segel
, Icel.
segl
, Dan.
seil
. √ 153.]
1.
An extent of canvas or other fabric by means of which the wind is made serviceable as a power for propelling vessels through the water.
Behoves him now both
sail
and oar.
Milton.
2.
Anything resembling a sail, or regarded as a sail.
3.
A wing; a van.
[Poetic]
Like an eagle soaring
To weather his broad
sails
.
Spenser.
4.
The extended surface of the arm of a windmill.
5.
A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
☞ In this sense, the plural has usually the same form as the singular;
as, twenty
sail
were in sight
.
6.
A passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or excursion upon the water.
☞ Sails are of two general kinds,
fore-and-aft sails
, and
square sails
. Square sails are always bent to yards, with their foot lying across the line of the vessel. Fore-and-aft sails are set upon stays or gaffs with their foot in line with the keel. A fore-and-aft sail is triangular, or quadrilateral with the after leech longer than the fore leech. Square sails are quadrilateral, but not necessarily square. See Phrases under
Fore
,
Adj.
, and
Square
,
Adj.
; also,
Bark
,
Brig
,
Schooner
,
Ship
,
Stay
.
Sail burton
(Naut.)
,
a purchase for hoisting sails aloft for bending.
–
Sail fluke
(Zool.)
,
the whiff.
–
Sail hook
,
a small hook used in making sails, to hold the seams square.
–
Sail loft
,
a loft or room where sails are cut out and made.
–
Sail room
(Naut.)
,
a room in a vessel where sails are stowed when not in use.
–
Sail yard
(Naut.)
,
the yard or spar on which a sail is extended.
–
Shoulder-of-mutton sail
(Naut.)
,
a triangular sail of peculiar form. It is chiefly used to set on a boat’s mast.
–
To crowd sail
.
(Naut.)
See under
Crowd
.
–
To loose sails
(Naut.)
,
to unfurl or spread sails.
–
To make sail
(Naut.)
,
to extend an additional quantity of sail.
–
To set a sail
(Naut.)
,
to extend or spread a sail to the wind.
–
To set sail
(Naut.)
,
to unfurl or spread the sails; hence, to begin a voyage.
–
To shorten sail
(Naut.)
,
to reduce the extent of sail, or take in a part.
–
To strike sail
(Naut.)
,
to lower the sails suddenly, as in saluting, or in sudden gusts of wind; hence, to acknowledge inferiority; to abate pretension.
–
Under sail
,
having the sails spread.

Sail

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sailed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sailing
.]
[AS.
segelian
,
seglian
. See
Sail
,
Noun.
]
1.
To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by the action of steam or other power.
2.
To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a water fowl.
3.
To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to pass by water;
as, they
sailed
from London to Canton
.
4.
To set sail; to begin a voyage.
5.
To move smoothly through the air; to glide through the air without apparent exertion, as a bird.
As is a winged messenger of heaven, . . .
When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds,
And
sails
upon the bosom of the air.
Shakespeare

Sail

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To pass or move upon, as in a ship, by means of sails; hence, to move or journey upon (the water) by means of steam or other force.
A thousand ships were manned to
sail
the sea.
Dryden.
2.
To fly through; to glide or move smoothly through.
Sublime she
sails

The aerial space, and mounts the wingèd gales.
Pope.
3.
To direct or manage the motion of, as a vessel;
as, to
sail
one's own ship
.
Totten.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sail

SAIL

,
Noun.
[L. sal, salt.]
1.
In navigation, a spread of canvas, or an assemblage of several breadths of canvas, [or some substitute for it,] sewed together with a double seam at the borders, and edged with a cord called the bolt-rope, to be extended on the masts or yards for receiving the impulse of wind by which a ship is driven. The principal sails are the courses or lower salts, the top-sails and top-gallant-sails.
2.
In poetry, wings.
3.
A ship or other vessel; used in the singular for a single ship, or as a collective name for many. We saw a sail at the leeward. We saw three sail on our star-board quarter. The fleet consists of twenty sail.
To loose sails, to unfurl them.
To make sail, to extend an additional quantity of sail.
To set sail, to expand or spread the sails; and hence; to begin a voyage.
To shorten sail, to reduce the extent of sail, or take in a part.
1.
To strike sail, to lower the sails suddenly, as in saluting or in sudden gusts of wind.
2.
To bate show or pomp.

SAIL

, v.i.
1.
To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water. A ship sails from New York for Liverpool. She sails ten knots an hour. She sails well close-hauled.
2.
To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to pass by water. We sailed from London to Canton.
3.
To swim.
Little dolphins, when they sail in the vast shadow of the British whale.
4.
To set sail; to begin a voyage. We sailed from New York for Havre, June 15, 1824. We sailed from Cowes for New York, May 10, 1825.
5.
To be carried in the air, as a balloon.
6.
To pass smoothly along.
As is a wing'd messenger from heaven, when he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, and sails upon the bosom of the air.
7.
To fly without striking with the wings.

SAIL

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To pass or move upon in a ship, by means of sails.
A thousand ships were mann'd to sail the sea.
[This use is elliptical, on or over being omitted.]
2.
To fly through
Sublime she sails th' aerial space, and mounts the winged gales.

Definition 2024

Sail

Sail

See also: sail, sáil, sàil, and saïl

Luxembourgish

Noun

Sail f ‎(plural Sailen)

  1. pillar, column

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian seil, from Proto-Germanic *seglą. More at sail.

Noun

Sail n

  1. (nautical) sail

Derived terms

sail

sail

See also: Sail, sáil, sàil, and saïl

English

Two sailboats racing,
with the wind filling their sails
A square-rigged sail
Dimetrodon loomisi, a synapsid species with a sail (spine projection).

Noun

sail ‎(plural sails)

  1. (nautical) A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
  2. (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use this power for travel or transport.
  3. A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.
    Let's go for a sail.
  4. (dated) A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft. Plural sail.
    Twenty sail were in sight.
  5. The blade of a windmill.
  6. A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
  7. The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
  8. (fishing) A sailfish.
    We caught three sails today.
  9. (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
  10. Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.
    • Spenser
      Like an eagle soaring / To weather his broad sails.
Hyponyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:sail
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English seġlian ‎(“to sail”), from Proto-Germanic *seglōną, *siglijaną ‎(“to sail”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sailje ‎(“to sail”), German Low German seilen ‎(“to sail”), Dutch zeilen ‎(“to sail”), German segeln ‎(“to sail”), Danish sejle ‎(“to sail”), Swedish segla ‎(“to sail”), Icelandic sigla ‎(“to sail”).

Verb

sail ‎(third-person singular simple present sails, present participle sailing, simple past and past participle sailed)

  1. To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
  2. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
  3. To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
  4. To set sail; to begin a voyage.
    We sail for Australia tomorrow.
  5. To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
    • Shakespeare
      As is a winged messenger of heaven, […] / When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, / And sails upon the bosom of the air.
    • 2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport:
      A hopeful ball from Forest right-back Brendan Moloney to the left edge of the area was met first by Ruddy but his attempted clearance rebounded off Tyson's leg and sailed in.
  6. To move briskly.
    The duchess sailed haughtily out of the room.
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

Basque

Noun

sail

  1. area

Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /salʲ/

Noun

sail f ‎(genitive singular saile)

  1. dirt, dross, impurity
  2. stain, defilement

Declension

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
sail shail
after an, tsail 		unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Volapük

Noun

sail ‎(plural sails)

  1. (nautical) sail

Declension

Derived terms

  • sailan
  • sailön

Etymology

From Old High German sūl, from Proto-Germanic *sūliz. Cognate with German Säule, Dutch zuil, English sile, Icelandic súla.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /zɑɪ̯l/

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