sail definition

English sail definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seɪl/, [seɪ̯ɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Homophone: sale

Etymology 1

From Middle English saile, sayle, seil, seyl, from Old English seġl, from Proto-West Germanic *segl, from Proto-Germanic *seglą. Cognate with West Frisian seil, Low German Segel, Dutch zeil, German Segel, Danish sejl, Swedish segel.

Noun

sail (countable and uncountable, 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.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     When we haue laught to ſee the ſailes conceiue / And grow big bellied with the wanton winde; […]

2. (nautical, uncountable) The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.

   Take in sail: a storm is coming.

3. (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
4. A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.

   Let's go for a sail.

5. (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.

   Twenty sail were in sight.

   • 1945 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Penrhyn Railway and its Locomotives—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 142, text published 1848:

     " […] The quay is upwards of 1,000 feet in length, and capable of accommodating more than 100 sail of traders; and there are generally a considerable number of vessels of from 40 to 300 tons burden, from various parts of the world, waiting to receive their cargoes."

6. (nautical) The conning tower of a submarine.
7. The blade of a windmill.
8. A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
9. The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
10. (fishing) A sailfish.

    We caught three sails today.

11. (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
12. Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 42:

      Like an eagle […] soaring / / To weather his broad sails.

Hyponyms

• See also Thesaurus:sail

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

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

Verb

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

2. 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.
3. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
4. To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
5. (intransitive) To set sail; to begin a voyage.

   We sail for Australia tomorrow.

6. To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     As is a winged messenger of heaven, […] / When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, / And sails upon the bosom of the air.

   • 2002 March 20, Kazuki Takahashi, Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (PlayStation video game, North American version), Konami:

     [flavor text of the card "Spirit of the Winds"] A spirit of the wind that freely sails the skies.

   • 2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     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.

7. (intransitive) To move briskly but sedately.

   The duchess sailed haughtily out of the room.

8. (card games, transitive) To deal out (cards) from a distance by impelling them across a surface.
   • 2007, Johnny Hughes, Texas Poker Wisdom, page 22:

     He would sit his hat across the room, and we would sail cards into it.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• Sail on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Alis, Ilsa, Isla, LIAs, LISA, Lias, Lisa, SiAl, ails, lais, lias, sial

Basque sail definition

Noun

sail

1. area

Dutch sail definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English sail. Doublet of zeil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːl/
• Hyphenation: sail
• Rhymes: -eːl

Noun

sail n (plural sails)

1. (nautical) The fin or sail of a submarine.

   Synonym: toren

Irish sail definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /salʲ/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish sal, from Proto-Celtic *salā.

Noun

sail f (genitive singular saile)

1. dirt, dross, impurity

   sail mhiotail ― metal dross

2. stain, defilement

   sail pheaca ― the stain of sin

Declension

Alternative forms

• sal

Derived terms

• sail chnis
• sail chluaise
• sail chaorach
• sailchuach

Related terms

• salach
• salachar
• salaigh

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “sal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “sal”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 589
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “sail”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Entries containing “sail” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Etymology 2

From Old Irish sail, from Proto-Celtic *salixs (whence also Welsh helyg, Breton halegen), from Proto-Indo-European *sl̥H-ik- (“willow”). Cognate with Latin salix, Old English sealh and English sallow.

Noun

sail f (genitive singular saileach, nominative plural saileacha)

1. willow (any of various trees or shrubs in the genus Salix)

Declension

Variant declension:

Derived terms

• saileach
• saileog

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “sail”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “sail”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 587
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “sail”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Mutation

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

Portuguese sail definition

Etymology

Alteration of saim.^[1]

Pronunciation

• Homophone: saiu (Brazil)
• Rhymes: (Brazil) -iw
• Hyphenation: sa‧il

Noun

sail m (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of saim (“fish oil”)

References

Volapük sail definition

Noun

sail (nominative plural sails)

1. (nautical) sail

Declension

Derived terms

• sailan
• sailön

Welsh sail definition

Etymology

From Middle Welsh seil, from Proto-Brythonic *söl, from Latin solea (“sole”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sai̯l/
• Rhymes: -ai̯l

Noun

sail f (plural seiliau, not mutable)

1. base, basis, foundation

   Synonym: sylfaen

Derived terms

• seiliedig (“established; fundamental”)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “sail”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies