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foremast

foremast

1 8.9
A mast near the front of a ship with two or more masts
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔrˌmæst/
  • Specialized
: mástil de proa
  • During the storm, the sailor secured the ropes to the foremast to prevent any damage.

Examples

  • Victory, like all ships of the line, was ship rigged, meaning she had three masts, A foremast main mast and mizzen mast, and a bowsprit.

  • This is the foremast and the foremast fife rail with pins, holding lines we use to control the sails along the foremast.

  • Mr. Ramsdell, secure the other end of the line - to the foremast.

  • This is the foremast and the foremast fife rail with pins, holding lines we use to control the sails along the foremast.

  • This is the foremast and the foremast fife rail with pins, holding lines we use to control the sails along the foremast.

  • The flag of danger was then raised atop the mizzenmast; from the foremast, the flag of resignation flew in the face of evil.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Victory, like all ships of the line, was ship rigged, meaning she had three masts, A foremast main mast, a Mizen mast and a bowsprit.

  • Chimps seized the dangling lines and marched the gig forward, fixing her nose to the foremast, then snapping the lines onto stanchions.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Her railings are scrolled with arabesques, obscured under layers of colorless paint, and the foremast is wobbling out of true with every motion of the hull.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The crew climbed to the top of the foremast to adjust the sails for the journey ahead.

Surface Forms

foremast singular
foremasts plural

Morphology

foremast = fore + mast (transparent) = fore + mast

The meaning is a straightforward combination: 'fore' (front) + 'mast' (a ship's spar) yields the mast at the front of the ship.

Etymology

Foremast comes from fore meaning 'front' and mast meaning the tall pole that holds the sails, like forehead where 'fore' also means 'front'. So the foremast is the mast that stands at the front of the ship.