Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “topsail” come from?

Topsail comes from Middle English topsail, a compound of top and sail referring to a sail set above the lower sail on a ship's mast.

topsail (English): A sail or either of the two sails rigged just...

Definitions

  1. A sail or either of the two sails rigged just...

Ancestry of “topsail”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtopThe highest or uppermost part of something; A...
2Middle EnglishtopThe summit or top of something, especially a...
3Old Englishtopp—
4Proto-West Germanic*topp—
5Proto-Germanictuppaztuft, plait; top, summit
6Proto-Indo-Europeandumb-tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,...

Words derived from “topsail”

  • foretopsail
  • tâp-sèle
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dumb- →