skysail

S1K5Y4S1A1I1L1

noun

On historical square-rigged ships, the sail above the royal. Normally it is the uppermost sail, but in some cases it is below the moonraker.

Scrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounskysail (plural skysails)

plural skysails

  1. nauticalOn historical square-rigged ships, the sail above the royal. Normally it is the uppermost sail, but in some cases it is below the moonraker.

    Never, in the whole voyage, did our crew spring to it in more lively fashion. And lively fashion was needed to save our gear. As it was, they cut away the remnants of the mizzen-lower-topsail with their sheath-knives, and they loosed the main-skysail out of its bolt-ropes.

    1914, Jack London, The Mutiny of the Elsinore, Chapter XLVI

Origin

From sky + sail.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

skysail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skysail

MLA

“skysail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skysail. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skysail,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skysail.

Source: skysail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.