royal mast

9.9

A small mast that stands above the top sails on old sailing ships

noun

Archaic

: mást real

With the royal mast set, the ship could catch every bit of the available breeze.

Examples

The crew climbed the royal mast to adjust the sails during the high winds.
The ship's royal mast stood tall against the sky.
On older ships, the royal mast was the highest of all the masts.
Many sailing vessels feature a royal mast for added height.
The crew climbed the royal mast to adjust the sails during the high winds.
With the royal mast set, the ship could catch every bit of the available breeze.
Many sailing vessels feature a royal mast for added height.

Surface Forms

royal mast singular

royal masts plural

Morphology

royal + mast

The compound is a regular compositional naming pattern: 'royal' (a named small upper sail) + 'mast' (upright pole), so the phrase refers to the mast associated with that upper sail — i.e. the mast above the topgallant. Although nautical and specialized, the meaning follows directly from the constituent meanings and standard noun-modifier composition, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it.

Etymology

Royal mast The compound noun royal mast comes from old sailing ships. It was a small mast set above the other masts, sitting at the very top like a crown, so royal suggests the highest place and the name came to mean the 'top' mast.