sailing

[sey-ling] /ˈseɪ lɪŋ/
noun
1.
the activity of a person or thing that sails.
2.
the departure of a ship from port:
The cruise line offers sailings every other day.
3.
Navigation. any of various methods for determining courses and distances by means of charts or with reference to longitudes and latitudes, rhumb lines, great circles, etc.
Origin
before 900; Middle English seiling, Old English seglung. See sail, -ing1
Related forms
well-sailing, adjective

sail

[seyl] /seɪl/
noun
1.
an area of canvas or other fabric extended to the wind in such a way as to transmit the force of the wind to an assemblage of spars and rigging mounted firmly on a hull, raft, iceboat, etc., so as to drive it along.
2.
some similar piece or apparatus, as the part of an arm that catches the wind on a windmill.
3.
a voyage or excursion, especially in a sailing vessel:
They went for a sail around the island.
4.
a sailing vessel or ship.
5.
sailing vessels collectively:
The fleet numbered 30 sail.
6.
sails for a vessel or vessels collectively.
7.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Vela.
verb (used without object)
8.
to move along or travel over water:
steamships sailing to Lisbon.
9.
to manage a sailboat, especially for sport.
10.
to begin a journey by water:
We are sailing at dawn.
11.
to move along in a manner suggestive of a sailing vessel:
caravans sailing along.
12.
to move along in a stately, effortless way:
to sail into a room.
verb (used with object)
13.
to sail upon, over, or through:
to sail the seven seas.
14.
to navigate (a vessel).
Verb phrases
15.
sail in/into, Informal.
  1. to go vigorously into action; begin to act; attack.
  2. to attack verbally:
    He would sail into his staff when work was going badly.
Idioms
16.
in sail, with the sails set.
17.
make sail, Nautical.
  1. to set the sail or sails of a boat or increase the amount of sail already set.
  2. to set out on a voyage:
    Make sail for the Leeward Islands.
18.
set sail, to start a sea voyage:
We set sail at midnight for Nantucket.
19.
trim one's sails, Informal. to cut expenses; economize:
We're going to have to trim our sails if we stay in business.
20.
under sail, with sails set; in motion; sailing:
It was good to be under sail in the brisk wind and under the warm sun.
Origin
before 900; (noun) Middle English sail(e), seille, Old English segl; cognate with German Segel, Old Norse segl; (v.) Middle English seillen, saylen, Old English siglan, seglian; cognate with Dutch zeilen, Old Norse sigla
Related forms
sailable, adjective
sailless, adjective
unsailable, adjective
unsailed, adjective
Examples from the web for sailing
  • Imagine being alone on the ocean for five or ten weeks, sailing in snow, ice and spray cruel as needles.
  • And they were more maneuverable than sailing ships, particularly along coastlines, where they could bombard forts and cities.
  • They're arboreal, and they use their gliding skills for sailing from tree to tree.
  • His differentness probably reinforced solitary pursuits-he gravitated to the river, to sketching, to sailing and to painting.
  • Boating and sailing and fishing, there are lots of fun things for families including hockey and many others for the school kids.
  • They filled their days with sailing, fishing and crabbing.
  • sailing, he'd invite my friends and me to stay up half the night playing poker in an invariably smoke-filled cabin.
  • It would not be the first psychiatric drug to run aground in a large study after sailing through early trials.
  • But if you decide to leave the leap seconds out, the atomic clocks and the universe itself begin sailing on different paths.
  • But one sport has always been difficult to beam into fans' living rooms: sailing.
British Dictionary definitions for sailing

sailing

/ˈseɪlɪŋ/
noun
1.
the practice, art, or technique of sailing a vessel
2.
a method of navigating a vessel: rhumb-line sailing
3.
an instance of a vessel's leaving a port: scheduled for a midnight sailing

sail

/seɪl/
noun
1.
an area of fabric, usually Terylene or nylon (formerly canvas), with fittings for holding it in any suitable position to catch the wind, used for propelling certain kinds of vessels, esp over water
2.
a voyage on such a vessel: a sail down the river
3.
a vessel with sails or such vessels collectively: to travel by sail, we raised seven sail in the northeast
4.
a ship's sails collectively
5.
something resembling a sail in shape, position, or function, such as the part of a windmill that is turned by the wind or the part of a Portuguese man-of-war that projects above the water
6.
the conning tower of a submarine
7.
in sail, having the sail set
8.
make sail
  1. to run up the sail or to run up more sail
  2. to begin a voyage
9.
set sail
  1. to embark on a voyage by ship
  2. to hoist sail
10.
under sail
  1. with sail hoisted
  2. under way
verb (mainly intransitive)
11.
to travel in a boat or ship: we sailed to Le Havre
12.
to begin a voyage; set sail: we sail at 5 o'clock
13.
(of a vessel) to move over the water: the liner is sailing to the Caribbean
14.
(transitive) to manoeuvre or navigate a vessel: he sailed the schooner up the channel
15.
(transitive) to sail over: she sailed the Atlantic single-handed
16.
often foll by over, through, etc. to move fast or effortlessly: we sailed through customs, the ball sailed over the fence
17.
to move along smoothly; glide
18.
(informal) often foll by in or into
  1. to begin (something) with vigour
  2. to make an attack (on) violently with words or physical force
Derived Forms
sailable, adjective
sailless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English segl; related to Old Frisian seil, Old Norse segl, German Segel
Word Origin and History for sailing
n.

Old English seglinge, verbal noun from the source of sail (v.).

sail

n.

Old English segl "sail, veil, curtain," from Proto-Germanic *seglom (cf. Old Saxon, Swedish segel, Old Norse segl, Old Frisian seil, Dutch zeil, Old High German segal, German Segel), of obscure origin with no known cognates outside Germanic (Irish seol, Welsh hwyl "sail" are Germanic loan-words). In some sources (Klein, OED) referred to PIE root *sek- "to cut," as if meaning "a cut piece of cloth." To take the wind out of (someone's) sails (1888) is to deprive (someone) of the means of progress, especially by sudden and unexpected action, "as by one vessel sailing between the wind and another vessel," ["The Encyclopaedic Dictionary," 1888].

v.

Old English segilan "travel on water in a ship; equip with a sail," from the same Germanic source as sail (n.); cognate with Old Norse sigla, Middle Dutch seghelen, Dutch zeilen, Middle Low German segelen, German segeln. Meaning "to set out on a sea voyage, leave port" is from c.1200. Related: Sailed; sailing.

Slang definitions & phrases for sailing

sailing

Related Terms

clear sailing


Idioms and Phrases with sailing

sail

also see:
Encyclopedia Article for sailing

In summer 2007 the America's Cup completed its three-year course of almost continuous competition, with a spectacular final series between defending Alinghi of Switzerland and challenger Emirates Team New Zealand. The ACC boats-Alinghi and New Zealand, respectively-were equal in speed, and the crews were professional in their performance, after three years of full-time preoccupation with the quest for the Cup. After four races the two teams were tied at two races each before Alinghi went ahead four races to two. The seventh and final race saw the lead change numerous times, the last time at the finish line, and Alinghi won by a scant one-second margin as New Zealand completed a penalty just before finishing. It was an exciting encounter, displayed beautifully in 3-D animation online and by worldwide television, using racetrack software to provide an overhead view of the competition. Almost immediately, the Swiss team announced new conditions for the next challenge in 2009, some of which appeared to favour the defender. The potential challengers objected, and the American team Oracle filed an independent challenge to take place in 2008. The New York Trust Court would decide the case, determining what could be done under the terms of the Deed of Gift of the Cup

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