luff

Meanings

Noun

• The vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind.
• The act of sailing a ship close to the wind.
• The roundest part of a ship's bow.
• The forward or weather leech of a sail, especially of the jib, spanker, and other fore-and-aft sails.

Verb

• To shake due to being trimmed improperly.
• To alter course to windward so that the sails luff. (Alternatively luff up)
• to let out (a sail) so that it luffs.
• To alter the vertical angle of the jib of a crane so as to bring it level with the load.

Origin

• From Old French lof. Collins English Dictionary states that this word is ultimately derived from Middle Dutch loef. Ellert Ekwall's Shakspere's Vocabulary: its etymological elements (1903) related this verb and loof instead to the East Frisian verb lofen, lufen, which would make it cognate to the French term lover.