bowsprit
English
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bowsprit
- /ˈbəʊspɹɪt/
Where it comes from
First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout).
noun bowsprits · bolesprit · boltsprit
- A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface. Where else but from Nantucket did those aboriginal whalemen, the Red-Men, first sally out in canoes to give chase to the Leviathan? And where but from Nantucket, too, did that first adventurous little sloop put forth, partly laden with imported cobblestones—so goes the story—to throw at the whales,
Translations
Talk about this word "bowsprit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bowsprit. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bowsprit. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bowsprit "bowsprit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bowsprit.Cite this
@misc{bowsprit_2026,
title = {bowsprit},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bowsprit},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
