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-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)
- (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.
- (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.
- (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
- (nautical) The conning tower of a submarine.
- 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.
- (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
- Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.
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)
- 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.
- To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
- (intransitive) To move briskly but sedately.
- (card games, transitive) To deal out (cards) from a distance by impelling them across a surface.
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
- Sail on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Sail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Anagrams
- Lasi, Alis, LISA, Lias, lias, sial, Isla, Lais, ails, SiAl, LIAs, lais, Ilsa, Lisa
Basque
Etymology
Borrowed from Romance, compare Old French seille.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s̺ai̯l/ [s̺ai̯l]
- Rhymes: -ai̯l
- Hyphenation: sail
Noun
sail inan
- plot (area or land)
- Synonym: alor
- scope, field
- Synonyms: arlo, alor
- department (subdivision of an organization)
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- “sail”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
- “sail”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005
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
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /salʲ/
Etymology 1
From Old Irish sal, from Proto-Celtic *salā.
Noun
sail f (genitive singular saile)
- dirt, dross, impurity
- sail mhiotail ― metal dross
- 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
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, 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
- “sail”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024
Etymology 2
From Old Irish sail, from Proto-Celtic *salixs (whence also Welsh helyg, Breton halegen), seemingly from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂el-ik-s or sl̥h₂-ik-s. Cognate with Latin salix, Old English sealh (English sallow), and Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), which all mean "willow", but the forms are hard to unify. The history of the word therefore must involve borrowing, possibly involving pre-Indo-European languages.
Noun
sail f (genitive singular saileach, nominative plural saileacha)
- willow (any of various trees or shrubs in the genus Salix)
Declension
Variant declension:
Derived terms
- saileach
- saileog
References
Further reading
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, 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
Portuguese
Etymology
Alteration of saim.
Pronunciation
- Homophone: saiu (Brazil)
- Rhymes: (Brazil) -iw
- Hyphenation: sa‧il
Noun
sail m (uncountable)
- Alternative form of saim (“fish oil”)
References
Volapük
Noun
sail (nominative plural sails)
- (nautical) sail
Declension
Derived terms
- sailan
- sailön
Welsh
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)
- base, basis, foundation
- Synonyms: bas, sawd, sylfaen
Derived terms
- cynsail (“precedent; premise”)
- 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