mast1

[mast, mahst] /mæst, mɑst/
noun
1.
Nautical.
  1. a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.
  2. any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.
  3. any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.
2.
Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.
3.
any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.
verb (used with object)
4.
to provide with a mast or masts.
Idioms
5.
before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor:
He served several years before the mast.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English mæst; cognate with German Mast; akin to Latin mālus pole
Related forms
mastless, adjective
mastlike, adjective
undermasted, adjective

mast2

[mast, mahst] /mæst, mɑst/
noun
1.
the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English mæst; cognate with German Mast; akin to meat

mast-

1.
variant of masto- before a vowel:
mastectomy.
Examples from the web for mast
  • His circular sail is attached to a mast that rises above a bridge between two pontoons.
  • The insurmountable problem in each case proved to be the mast.
  • The fore-mast is the second tallest mast of the ship.
  • When the large ship is raised, sea gulls can be seen to fly through the mast.
  • The only structural part of the ship not made of plastic is her mast.
  • Her mast is of a single fir tree, rather than of extruded aerospace alloy.
  • Buy a mast or pickup buoy at a ship's chandlery store.
  • But in the end, the waves close over the top of the mast.
  • Their eyelids are at half- mast, their hands shoved in jacket pockets.
  • That's part of what the bus trip was about: a siren's song to those strapped to the mast to come out and play.
British Dictionary definitions for mast

mast1

/mɑːst/
noun
1.
(nautical) any vertical spar for supporting sails, rigging, flags, etc, above the deck of a vessel or any components of such a composite spar
2.
any sturdy upright pole used as a support
3.
(nautical) Also called captain's mast. a hearing conducted by the captain of a vessel into minor offences of the crew
4.
(nautical) before the mast, as an apprentice seaman
verb
5.
(transitive) (nautical) to equip with a mast or masts
Derived Forms
mastless, adjective
mastlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English mæst; related to Middle Dutch mast and Latin mālus pole

mast2

/mɑːst/
noun
1.
the fruit of forest trees, such as beech, oak, etc, used as food for pigs
Word Origin
Old English mæst; related to Old High German mast food, and perhaps to meat

mast-

combining form
1.
a variant of masto-
Word Origin and History for mast
n.

"long pole on a ship to support the sail," Old English mæst, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (cf. Old Norse mastr, Middle Dutch maste, Dutch, Danish mast, German Mast), from PIE *mazdo- "a pole, rod" (cf. Latin malus "mast," Old Irish matan "club," Irish maide "a stick," Old Church Slavonic mostu "bridge"). The single mast of an old ship was the boundary between quarters of officers and crew, hence before the mast in the title of Dana's book, etc.

"fallen nuts; food for swine," Old English mæst, from Proto-Germanic *masto (cf. Dutch, Old High German, German mast "mast;" Old English verb mæsten "to fatten, feed"), perhaps from PIE *mad-sta-, from root *mad- "moist, wet," also used of various qualities of food (cf. Sanskrit madati "it bubbles, gladdens," medah "fat, marrow;" Latin madere "be sodden, be drunk;" Middle Persian mast "drunk;" Old English mete "food," Old High German muos "meal, mushlike food," Gothic mats "food").

mast in Medicine

mast- pref.
Variant of masto-.

Related Abbreviations for mast

MAST

military antishock trousers
Idioms and Phrases with mast

mast

see: at half-mast
Encyclopedia Article for mast

in botany, nuts or fruits of trees and shrubs, such as beechnuts, acorns, and berries, that accumulate on the forest floor, providing forage for game animals and swine. Mast has also been used as human food and to fatten poultry. The phrase "a good mast year" refers to a period in which there is a heavy crop of wild nuts

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