sail

sail

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of sail in English

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)

  1. (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.
  2. (nautical, uncountable) The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.
  3. (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
  4. A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.
  5. (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
  6. (nautical) The conning tower of a submarine.
  7. The blade of a windmill.
  8. A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
  9. The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
  10. (fishing) A sailfish.
  11. (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
  12. 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)

  2. 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.
  3. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
  4. To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
  5. (intransitive) To set sail; to begin a voyage.
  6. To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
  7. (intransitive) To move briskly but sedately.
  8. (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

  • Alis, Ilsa, Isla, LIAs, LISA, Lias, Lisa, SiAl, ails, lais, lias, sial

Basque

Noun

sail

  1. area

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sail. Doublet of zeil.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /seːl/
  • Hyphenation: sail
  • Rhymes: -eːl

Noun

sail n (plural sails)

  1. (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)

  1. dirt, dross, impurity
    sail mhiotail ― metal dross
  2. 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

  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, 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
  • Entries containing “sail” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Etymology 2

From Old Irish sail, from Proto-Celtic *salixs (whence also Welsh helyg, Breton halegen), from Proto-Indo-European *sl̥H-ik- (“willow”). Cognate with Latin salix, Old English sealh and English sallow.

Noun

sail f (genitive singular saileach, nominative plural saileacha)

  1. willow (any of various trees or shrubs in the genus Salix)
Declension

Variant declension:

Derived terms
  • saileach
  • saileog

Further reading

  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, 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)

  1. Alternative form of saim (“fish oil”)

References

Volapük

Noun

sail (nominative plural sails)

  1. (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)

  1. base, basis, foundation
    Synonym: sylfaen

Derived terms

  • 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

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.