Sail (?), n. [OE. seil, AS.
segel, segl; akin to D. zeil, OHG. segal,
G. & Sw. segel, Icel. segl, Dan. seil. √
153.] 1. 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.
Milton.
2. Anything resembling a sail, or regarded as
a sail.
3. A wing; a van. [Poetic]
Like an eagle soaring
To weather his broad sails.
Spenser.
4. The extended surface of the arm of a
windmill.
5. A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a
craft.
☞ In this sense, the plural has usually the same form as the
singular; as, twenty sail were in sight.
6. A passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or
excursion upon the water.
☞ 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
(Zoöl.), 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. -- Shoulder-of-
mutton sail (Naut.), a triangular sail of
peculiar form. It is chiefly used to set on a boat's mast. --
To crowd sail. (Naut.) See under
Crowd. -- To loose sails (Naut.),
to unfurl or spread sails. -- To make sail
(Naut.), to extend an additional quantity of sail. --
To set a sail (Naut.), to extend or
spread a sail to the wind. -- To set sail
(Naut.), to unfurl or spread the sails; hence, to begin a
voyage. -- To shorten sail (Naut.),
to reduce the extent of sail, or take in a part. --
To strike sail (Naut.), to lower the
sails suddenly, as in saluting, or in sudden gusts of wind; hence, to
acknowledge inferiority; to abate pretension. -- Under
sail, having the sails spread.
Sail (?), v. i. [imp. & p.
p. Sailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Sailing.] [AS. segelian, seglian. See
Sail, n.] 1. 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.
2. To move through or on the water; to swim,
as a fish or a water fowl.
3. To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to
pass by water; as, they sailed from London to Canton.
4. To set sail; to begin a voyage.
5. To move smoothly through the air; to glide
through the air without apparent exertion, as a bird.
As is a winged messenger of heaven, . . .
When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds,
And sails upon the bosom of the air.
Shak.Sail, v. t. 1. To
pass or move upon, as in a ship, by means of sails; hence, to move or
journey upon (the water) by means of steam or other force.
A thousand ships were manned to sail the
sea.
Dryden.
2. To fly through; to glide or move smoothly
through.
Sublime she sails
The aërial space, and mounts the wingèd
gales.
Pope.
3. To direct or manage the motion of, as a
vessel; as, to sail one's own ship. Totten.