Etymology : Middle English, from Old English segl; akin to Old High German segal sail
Pronunciation : sA(&)l,
as last element
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. sheet of fabric used to catch wind and propel a sailboat; cruise, trip in a sailboat; sailboat, sailing ship; set of fabric sails for a sailboat; any device used to catch wind and generate motion. cruise in a sailboat, take a trip in a sailing ship; drive a sailboat, operate and navigate a sailing ship. sail\sail\ , n. [oe. seil, as. segel, segl; akin to d. zeil, ohg. segal, g. & sw. segel, icel. segl, dan. seil. ? 153.].
2. 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.
3. anything resembling a sail, or regarded as a sail.
4. a wing; a van. [poetic] like an eagle soaring to weather his broad sails.
5. the extended surface of the arm of a windmill.
6. a sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.note: in this sense, the plural has usually the same form as the singular; as, twenty sail were in sight.
7. a passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or excursion upon the water.note: 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, a., and square, a.; also, bark, brig, schooner, ship, stay.sail burton (naut.), a purchase for hoisting sails aloft for bending.sail fluke (zo?l.), 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.
8. 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.
9. Anything resembling a sail, or regarded as a sail.
10. A wing; a van.
11. The extended surface of the arm of a windmill.
12. A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
13. A passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or excursion upon the water.
14. 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.
15. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a water fowl.
16. To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to pass by water; as, they sailed from London to Canton.
17. To set sail; to begin a voyage.
18. To move smoothly through the air; to glide through the air without apparent exertion, as a bird.
19. To pass or move upon, as in a ship, by means of sails; hence, to move or journey upon by means of steam or other force.
20. To fly through; to glide or move smoothly through.
21. To direct or manage the motion of, as a vessel; as, to sail one's own ship. a large piece of fabric by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel traverse or travel by ship on ; "We sailed the Atlantic"; "He sailed the Pacific all alone" travel in a boat propelled by wind; "I love sailing, especially on the open sea".
22. 1. Sails are large pieces of material attached to the mast of a ship. The wind blows against the sails and pushes the ship along. The white sails billow with the breezes they catch.
23. You say a ship sails when it moves over the sea. The trawler had sailed from the port of Zeebrugge.
24. If you sail a boat or if a boat sails, it moves across water using its sails. I shall get myself a little boat and sail her around the world For nearly two hundred miles she sailed on, her sails hard with ice.
25. If a person or thing sails somewhere, they move there smoothly and fairly quickly. We got into the lift and sailed to the top floor see also:
sailing.
26. When a ship sets sail, it leaves a port. Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World in the Santa Maria.
27. to sail close to the wind: see:
wind.