Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fore-and-aft sail set on the mizzenmast.
  • noun A mizzenmast.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Nautical, the aftermost fore-and-aft sail in a ship, set abaft the mizzenmast, and having its head extended by a gaff; a spanker. See spanker.
  • Noting the hindmost pair of horns in a five-horned giraffe, a small pair of projections arising from the lambdoid crest, back of the larger frontal horns.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Naut.) Hindmost; nearest the stern
  • noun (Naut.) The hindmost of the fore and aft sails of a three-masted vessel; also, the spanker.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nautical mizzenmast
  • noun nautical A fore-and-aft sail set on a mizzenmast.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun third mast from the bow in a vessel having three or more masts; the after and shorter mast of a yawl, ketch, or dandy
  • noun fore-and-aft sail set on the mizzenmast

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English mesan, from Old French misaine, Old Spanish mezana or Old Italian mezzana, all ultimately from Latin mediānus, of the middle, from medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French misaine, modified from Old French migenne (through influence from Italian mezzana), from Catalan mitjana, feminine of mitjan, ultimately from Latin medianus.

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Examples

  • Puff follows puff, and I am glad the mizzen is furled.

    Chapter 9 1913

  • Puff follows puff, and I am glad the mizzen is furled.

    Chapter 9 1911

  • The tall mast is the mainmast, the short mast is the mizzen; some ketches carry square sails on the main, some carry a topsail on the mizzen -- the distinctive mark of the ketch being that the mizzen is a pole-mast and stepped in front of the stern-post.

    Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891 Various

  • The top of the mizzen was the first to disappear, then followed the main-top; and soon, of what had been a noble vessel, not a vestige was to be seen.

    The Survivors of the Chancellor 1911

  • American and other, were at half-mast, as was the admiral's square blue flag at the mizzen, which is never lowered while he remains on duty on board.

    From Sail to Steam, Recollections of Naval Life 1877

  • The top of the mizzen was the first to disappear, then followed the main-top; and soon, of what had been a noble vessel, not a vestige was to be seen.

    The Survivors of the Chancellor, diary of J.R. Kazallon, passenger Jules Verne 1866

  • The students sat in the open cockpit to learn terms such as mizzen mast, jib and stanchion.

    The News Tribune - Tacoma - - HOMEPAGE 2010

  • " "Raft coming!" called the mizzen lookout, stimulat-ing a rush toward the stern.

    Mission to Moulokin Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 1979

  • When I finished, I pulled my sleeping bag out from the foot locker, hauled it up top to the main deck and spread it out between the main and mizzen masts.

    Jerry Nelson: Sea Spray and Time Travel Jerry Nelson 2012

  • When I finished, I pulled my sleeping bag out from the foot locker, hauled it up top to the main deck and spread it out between the main and mizzen masts.

    Jerry Nelson: Sea Spray and Time Travel Jerry Nelson 2012

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