drabbler

plural drabblers · alternative drabler

1. historicalnauticalA piece of canvas laced to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth or more drop.

   VVhoes at Helme? bear vp hard: and hard vp: and thou beeſt a man beare vp; Star-borde, Port-agein: off vvith your Drablers, and your Banners; out vvith your Courſes: Ho— […]

   1612, Thomas Dekker, “If This Be Not a Good Play, the Divell Is In It”, in If It Be Not Good, the Diuel Is In It. […], London: […] [Thomas Creede] for I[ohn] T[rundle] [a]nd are to be sold by Edward Marchant, […], →OCLC, signature E, verso

   2 more examples

   The next day, merrily pursuing our voyage, we came in sight of the island of Chaneph, where Pantagruel's ship could not arrive, the wind chopping about, and then failing us so that we were becalmed, and could hardly get ahead, tacking about from starboard to larboard, and larboard to starboard, though to our sails we added drabblers.

   1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5)

   Then came the voice of the master, which always his mate echoed, "Let fall your mainsail!" And the echo, "Let fall your mainsail!" "Yea, yea!" "On with your bonnets and drabblers!" And again came the echo from the mate, "On with your bonnets and drabblers!"

   1923, Charles Boardman Hawes, The Dark Frigate, Chapter 6