lateen Hear it!

lateen Definition

la·teen (la tēn′, lə-)

adjective

designating or of a triangular, fore-and-aft-rigged sail attached to a long yard suspended obliquely from a short mast: now used chiefly on Mediterranean vessels

Etymology: Fr latine < (voile) latine, Latin (sail) < fem. of L Latinus, Latin

noun

a lateen-rigged vessel

lateen Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • sail: There are no signs of the old triangular lateen sails or the heavy wooden rudder.
  • rig: A 4th century mosaic shows a Roman ship with a triangular style lateen rig.
  • mizzen: Detail on the Bedford seal is hard to distinguish but both ships clearly had a square rigged mainmast and a lateen mizzen.