bowsprit

Meaning

A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.

Synonyms

head

prow

Translations

Bugspriet

beaupré

bompresso

boegspriet

arbre de beaupré

bauprés

bauprès

liaison de type beaupré

albero di bompresso

mât de beaupré

πρόβολος

gurupés

πρόβολος πλοίου

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbəʊspɹɪt/

Etymology

Cognate with Old English: spreot

Cognate with English: sprout

In summary

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).