English Online Dictionary. What means sail? What does sail mean?
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seɪl/, [seɪ̯ɫ]
- Rhymes: -eɪl
- Homophone: sale
Etymology 1
From Middle English saile, sayle, seil, seyl, from Old English seġl, from Proto-Germanic *seglą. Cognate with West Frisian seil, Low German Segel, Dutch zeil, German Segel, Swedish segel.
Noun
sail (countable and uncountable, plural sails)
- (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.
- (nautical,uncountable) The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.
- Take in sail: a storm is coming.
- (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
- A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.
- Let's go for a sail.
- (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
- Twenty sail were in sight.
- The blade of a windmill.
- A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
- The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
- (fishing) A sailfish.
- We caught three sails today.
- (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
- Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.
- (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- Like an eagle soaring / To weather his broad sails.
- (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:sail
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English siġlan (“to sail”), from *siglijaną. Cognate with West Frisian sile, Low German seilen, Dutch zeilen, German segeln, Swedish segla, Icelandic sigla.
Verb
sail (third-person singular simple present sails, present participle sailing, simple past and past participle sailed)
- 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.
- To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
- To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
- (intransitive) To set sail; to begin a voyage.
- We sail for Australia tomorrow.
- To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
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- [flavor text of the card "Spirit of the Winds"]
- A spirit of the wind that freely sails the skies.
- (intransitive) To move briskly.
- The duchess sailed haughtily out of the room.
Derived terms
- besail
- sail close to the wind
Translations
Anagrams
- Alis, Isla, LIAs, LISA, Lias, Lisa, SiAl, ails, lais, lias, sial
Basque
Noun
sail
- area
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English sail. Doublet of zeil
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seːl/
- Hyphenation: sail
- Rhymes: -eːl
Noun
sail n (plural sails)
- (nautical) The fin or sail of a submarine.
- Synonym: toren
Irish
Alternative forms
- sal
Etymology
From Old Irish sal, from Proto-Celtic *salā.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /salʲ/
Noun
sail f (genitive singular saile)
- dirt, dross, impurity
- stain, defilement
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Mutation
Further reading
- Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “sal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- “sal” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 1st ed., 1904, by Patrick S. Dinneen, page 589.
- "sail" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
- Entries containing “sail” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
Volapük
Noun
sail (nominative plural sails)
- (nautical) sail
Declension
Derived terms
- sailan
- sailön