trysail

[ trahy-seyl; Nautical trahy-suhl ]

noun

, Nautical.

1. a triangular or quadrilateral sail having its luff hooped or otherwise bent to a mast, used for lying to or keeping a vessel headed into the wind; spencer.

trysail

/ ˈtraɪˌseɪl; ˈtraɪsəl /

noun

1. a small fore-and-aft sail, triangular or square, set on the mainmast of a sailing vessel in foul weather to help keep her head to the wind Also calledstorm trysail

Word History and Origins

Origin of trysail¹

First recorded in 1760–70; try + sail

Example Sentences

Brigantine Corsair heave to hulk trysail lugsail smartly.

From Seattle Times

In a statement on the Storm Trysail Club’s website , Leonard Sitar and John Fisher said the annual sailing race became unsustainable because of declining participation and dependence on sponsorship.

From Washington Times

After the 2015 regatta, the Storm Trysail Club took over from Premiere Racing.

From Washington Times

Owen had cared about how a boat sailed more than about how she looked—that's why the Frog had six sails, even a spinnaker and a tough little storm trysail— and nowhere on the boat was there a cute little decal with one of those quippy sayings like, “The captain’s word is law,” or “Marriages performed on this boat good for duration of the voyage only.”

From Literature

He was, however, for a few months occupying the beautiful mansion of Commodore Trysail, at the special request of the latter, who was about to leave for the south, where he and his lady expected to remain some time.

From Project Gutenberg