square sail

See synonyms for square sail on Thesaurus.com
nounNautical.
  1. a sail set beneath a horizontal yard, the normal position of which, when not trimmed to the wind, is directly athwartships.

Origin of square sail

1
First recorded in 1590–1600

Words Nearby square sail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use square sail in a sentence

  • The end of the whale line was then hooked to the clewline of the fore-square-sail, which had been detached for the purpose.

    Down the Rhine | Oliver Optic
  • She's a brigantine, and there are sprits'ls on both masts, and only one square sail on the foremast.

    Somehow Good | William de Morgan
  • Both these kinds of vessels were provided with a mast, a square sail, and coils of cordage known by the name of cordelles.

  • If it goes round a point more we will get the square-sail ready for hoisting.

    The Queen's Cup | G. A. Henty
  • The cutter followed her example, and hoisted a large square sail.

    With Wolfe in Canada | G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for square sail

square sail

noun
  1. nautical a rectangular or square sail set on a horizontal yard rigged more or less athwartships

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012