different between sail vs drifter

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /se?l/, [se???]
• Rhymes: -e?l
• Homophone: sale

Etymology 1

From Middle English saile, sayle, seil, seyl, from Old English se?l, from Proto-West Germanic *segl, from Proto-Germanic *segl?. Cognate with West Frisian seil, Low German Segel, Dutch zeil, German Segel, Swedish segel.

Noun

sail (countable and uncountable, plural sails)

1. (nautical) A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
2. (nautical, uncountable) The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.

3. (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
4. A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.

5. (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.

6. (nautical) The conning tower of a submarine.
7. The blade of a windmill.
8. A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
9. The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
10. (fishing) A sailfish.

11. (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
12. Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.

Hyponyms

• See also Thesaurus:sail

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English si?lan (“to sail”), from Proto-West Germanic *siglijan, from *siglijan?. Cognate with West Frisian sile, Low German seilen, Dutch zeilen, German segeln, Swedish segla, Icelandic sigla.

Verb

sail (third-person singular simple present sails, present participle sailing, simple past and past participle sailed)

2. To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
3. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
4. To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
5. (intransitive) To set sail; to begin a voyage.

6. To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
   • [flavor text of the card "Spirit of the Winds"] A spirit of the wind that freely sails the skies.
7. (intransitive) To move briskly.

Derived terms

• sail close to the wind

Translations

External links

• Sail on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Alis, Isla, LIAs, LISA, Lias, Lisa, SiAl, ails, lais, lias, sial

Basque

Noun

sail

1. area

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sail. Doublet of zeil

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /se?l/
• Hyphenation: sail
• Rhymes: -e?l

Noun

sail n (plural sails)

1. (nautical) The fin or sail of a submarine.

   Synonym: toren

Irish

Alternative forms

• sal

Etymology

From Old Irish sal, from Proto-Celtic *sal?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sal?/

Noun

sail f (genitive singular saile)

1. dirt, dross, impurity

2. stain, defilement

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Mutation

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “sal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “sal” in Foclóir Gae?ilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 1st ed., 1904, by Patrick S. Dinneen, page 589.
• "sail" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Entries containing “sail” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Volapük

Noun

sail (nominative plural sails)

1. (nautical) sail

Declension

Derived terms

• sailan
• sailön

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin solea (“sole”).

Noun

sail f (plural seiliau, not mutable)

1. base, basis, foundation

   Synonym: sylfaen

Derived terms

• seiliedig (“established; fundamental”)

References

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “sail”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

English

Etymology

From drift +? -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??ft?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d??ft?/

Noun

drifter (plural drifters)

1. (sometimes derogatory) A person who moves from place to place or job to job.
2. (nautical) A type of lightweight sail used in light winds like a spinnaker.
   • 1995, Ken Textor, The New Book of Sail Trim (page 85)

     In winds above 10 knots we usually run wing-and-wing with our 100 percent lapper set on a whisker pole opposite the mainsail. As the wind drops, we get out the drifter and set it flying to leeward (Fig. 1).

   • 1999, Lin Pardey, Larry Pardey, Cost Conscious Cruiser: Champagne Cruising on a Beer Budget

     After trying a variety of light-wind sails, we've found the most versatile and simple one to be a nylon drifter.

   • 2000, Jim Howard, Charles J. Doane, Handbook of Offshore Cruising (page 178)

     Some people recommend a medium- to lightweight 140- or 150-percent headsail, and others go for a drifter/reacher.

3. (automotive) A driver who uses driving techniques to modify vehicle traction to cause a vehicle to slide or power slide rather than drive in line with the tires.
   • 2006, Paul Morton, How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (page 32)

     However, sensing the available traction may actually be more important to a drifter.

   • 2007, Calvin Wan, Calvin Wan's Drifting Performance Handbook (page 132)

     For professional drifters looking for even more fine-tuning of their suspension setups, some companies offer more advanced two-way adjustable shocks […]

   • 2009, Michael Bender, The Fast, the Fraudulent and the Fatal (page 50)

     While this method is used by a few drifters in rear-wheel drive cars, this technique is really the only way one can drift in a front-wheel drive car.

4. (fishing) One who takes part in drift fishing.
5. (fishing) A boat used for drift fishing.
6. (parachuting) A parachutist who jumps before the rest of the group to determine wind direction.
   • 1948, Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News (volume 75, page 557)

     As we circled the area, the Dakota appeared and dropped a drifter.

   • 1962, Queen's Medical Magazine (volumes 54-55, page 31)

     […] a circling Beverley dropped parachutists in small groups — a few hard words were said about R.A.F. organisation. The time came at last for the first four to get into the balloon car. First out was a drifter — an experienced parachutist who jumps first to assess conditions by allowing himself to drift at random.

7. (mining, historical) A person employed in driving in rock other than coal.

Related terms

• drift fishing
• drift net

Translations

Further reading

• drifter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Drift netting on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Swedish

Noun

drifter

1. indefinite plural of drift