sail

Pronunciation: /seɪl/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel
  2. noun an ocean trip taken for pleasure
  3. noun any structure that resembles a sail

Etymology

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, Danish sejl, Swedish segel.

In classic literature

Synonyms

canvas, canvass, sheet

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
piece of cloth
Narrower (hyponyms)
foresail, royal, crossjack, save-all, press of sail, topsail

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