balloon sail
- noun
- Specialized
:
vela globo
- With the balloon sail flown high, the vessel gained impressive speed downwind.
Examples
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The yacht unfurled its balloon sail to catch the gentle breeze during the race.
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They decided to rig the balloon sail for smoother and faster sailing on the open sea.
-
The boat was equipped with a balloon sail.
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Have you ever seen a balloon sail in action?
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The yacht unfurled its balloon sail to catch the gentle breeze during the race.
-
With the balloon sail flown high, the vessel gained impressive speed downwind.
-
They decided to rig the balloon sail for smoother and faster sailing on the open sea.
Synonyms
103
1.0
A large piece of strong fabric on a boat that catches wind to move the boat
3
9.1
A large light sail set in front of the main sail to catch wind when sailing downwind
An extra sail set outside a square sail to make a ship go faster in light wind
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally transparent: 'balloon' modifies 'sail' to indicate a sail that is balloon-like (large, light and loose) used to catch the wind and increase speed. This noun+noun modification follows a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Balloon sail comes from the sail's look: a large, loose sail that puffs out like a balloon when the wind fills it. That's why the term means 'a light, full sail set to catch wind from behind and make the boat go faster'.