sail

Meanings

Noun

• 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.
• The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.
• 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.
• A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
• 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.
• A sailfish.
• an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaur and synapsid
• Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.

Verb

• 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.
• To set sail; to begin a voyage.
• To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
• To move briskly but sedately.
• To deal out (cards) from a distance by impelling them across a surface.

Origin

• 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, Swedish segel.
• From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English siġlan ("to sail"), from Proto-West Germanic *siglijan, from *siglijaną. Cognate with West Frisian sile, Low German seilen, Dutch zeilen, German segeln, Swedish segla, Icelandic sigla.