backstay

noun

Meaning

A part of the rigging of a sailing ship extending from masthead the top of the mast to the back of the ship; they support the strain on all upper masts and provide additional support to the shrouds when the wind is abaft the beam.

Etymology / origin

No prose etymology has been added yet.

No ancestor words have been linked yet.

Related words

topmast(English)forestay(English)staysail(English)standing rigging(English)headstay(English)capshore(English)bobstay(English)shroud(English)

Descendant words

No descendant words have been linked yet.

Sources

DictionaryAPI.dev English dictionary data