topsail

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US/ˈtɑp.seɪl/US/ˈtɑp.səl/UK/ˈtɒp.seɪl/UK/ˈtɒp.səl/

noun

A sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship.

OriginMiddle English topsail →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

topsail1

nountopsail (plural topsails)

plural topsails

  1. nauticalA sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship.
  2. nauticalIn a fore-and-aft-rigged sailing boat, the sail that is set above the gaff at the top part of the mast.

Topsail2

proper noun
  1. A neighbourhood of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Origin

topsail · noun

  1. Middle Englishtopsail
  2. Englishtopsail

From Middle English topsail, topsayl, topseyle, topsaill, equivalent to top + sail.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Topsail · proper noun

Most likely named after Topsail Head.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀρτέμων
  • ἀρτέμων (artémōn)sail above the course sail
Catalan gàbia
  • gàbiasail above the course sail
Danish topsejl
  • topsejlsail above the course sail
Dutch bovenzeil
  • bovenzeilsail above the course sail
Finnish märssypurje
  • märssypurjesail above the course sail
French hunier
  • huniersail above the course sail
German Toppsegel
  • Toppsegelsail above the course sail
Hebrew מִפְרָשׂ עִלִּי
  • מִפְרָשׂ עִלִּי (mifras ili)sail above the course sail
Irish bairbíneach, barréadach
  • bairbíneachsail above the course sail
  • barréadachsail above the course sail
  • barrsheolsail above the course sail
  • seol bairrsail above the course sail
Norwegian Bokmål toppseil
  • toppseilsail above the course sail
Spanish gavia
  • gaviasail above the course sail
Tagalog gabya
  • gabyasail above the course sail

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

apostil
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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