foresail

noun — 3 senses

noun

Etymology From fore- + sail. Compare Dutch voorzeil, German Vorsegel, Danish forsejl, Swedish försegel.

Nautical, Transport The lowest (and usually the largest) square sail hung on the foremast

On a square-rigged ship

Nautical, Transport A square fore-and-aft sail set on the foremast, but behind it, on a schooner or other similar vessel.

Nautical, Transport A triangular sail set forward of the foremast: forestaysail.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.