Where does “mainsail” come from?
Mainsail derives from English main and sail, where main comes from Middle French main, from Latin manus meaning hand, and sail from Old English segl.
mainsail (English): The largest sail on a sailing vessel
Definitions
- The largest sail on a sailing vessel
Ancestry of “mainsail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | main | Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal;... |
| 2 | French | main | hand; handball |
| 3 | Middle French | main | hand |
| 4 | Old French | main | hand |
| 5 | Latin | manus | hand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | manus | hand |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | man- | human being; man; hand |