Bowsprit meaning

bou'sprĭt', bō'-
A spar, extending forward from the stem of a ship, to which the stays of the foremast are fastened.
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A large, tapered spar extending forward from the bow of a sailing vessel, to which stays for the masts are secured.
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(nautical) A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.
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Origin of bowsprit

  • Middle English bouspret possibly from Middle Low German bōchsprēt bōch bow bheug- in Indo-European roots sprēt sprit sper- in Indo-European roots
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • First attested in late XIII century. Probably from M.L.G. bochspret: boch - "the bow of a ship" + spret - "pole".
    From Wiktionary

Bowsprit Sentence Examples

  • In the meantime, if your boat has a bowsprit, could you please check the bobstay, its attachments and its components.

  • All went well until we hit the problem of how to retract the bowsprit.

  • You can see the bowsprit, foremast with crow's nest, a cannon.

  • These were clinker built cutters with a large spread of sail and a very long bowsprit.

  • The retractable bowsprit and easily raised or lowered mast make the 24 ' economical to berth and suitable for single-handed sailing.

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Words near bowsprit in the Dictionary