mainsail

[ meyn-seyl; Nautical meyn-suh l ]

/ ˈmeɪnˌseɪl; Nautical ˈmeɪn səl /

the lowermost sail on a mainmast.

Origin of mainsail

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at main¹, sail

She was under jib and mainsail only, but the breeze was fresh and she was travelling at a great rate.

The Ebbing Of The Tide |Louis Becke
The mainsail and jib went up with rapid jerks while the rings rattled their protest.

'Smiles' |Eliot H. Robinson
The mainsail closed up several points, the Ninety-Nine slackened her pace and edged in closer to the land.

Romany of the Snows |Gilbert Parker
And hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore.

The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version |Various

It broke aboard, right into the mainsail, cleared the deck, and hove the smack on her beam-ends.

Personal Reminiscences in Book Making |R.M. Ballantyne

mainsail

/ (ˈmeɪnˌseɪl, nautical ˈmeɪnsəl) /

nautical the largest and lowermost sail on the mainmast