bowsprit
/ˈbəʊspɹɪt/ noun
Forms bowsprits bolesprit boltsprit
- noun (nautical) A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.
Etymology
First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A large boom or spar, which projects over the stem of a ship or other vessel, to carry sail forward.
Etymology [Bow + sprit; akin to D.boegspriet; boeg bow of a ship + spriet, E. sprit, also Sw. bogspröt, G. bugspriet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bowsprit”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details