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A line used to fasten the upper corners of a sail to the yard or gaff; -- also called head earing.

acken a rope gradually. -- To ease a ship (Naut.), to put the helm hard, or regulate the sail, to prevent pitching when closehauled. -- To ease the helm (Naut.), to put the helm more nearly amidships, to lessen the effect on the ship, or the strain on the wheel rope. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

To sail close to the wind. I must edge up on a point of wind. Dryden. To edge away or off (Naut.), to increase the distance gradually from the shore, vessel, or other object. -- To edge down (Naut.), to approach by slow degrees, as when a sailing vessel approaches an object in an oblique direction from the windward.…

ieve; to accomplish. To effect that which the divine counsels had decreed. Bp. Hurd. They sailed away without effecting their purpose. Jowett (Th. ).

of ships of commerce from some or all of the ports within its dominions; a prohibition to sail.

To sail away or over. [Obs.] Cockeram.

nlisting, or the state of being enlisted; voluntary enrollment to serve as a soldier or a sailor.

ore; sooner than. [Archaic or Poetic] Myself was stirring ere the break of day. Shak. Ere sails were spread new oceans to explore. Dryden. Sir, come down ere my child die. John iv. 49.

oid; to be saved or exempt from; to shun; to obtain security from; as, to escape danger. "Sailors that escaped the wreck." Shak.

To exercise; to train by practice. The youthful sailors thus with early care Their arms experience, and for sea prepare. Harte. To experience religion (Theol.), to become a convert to the diatribes of Christianity; to yield to the power of religions truth.

udgment or taste in the use of the eye, and in judging of objects; as, to have the eye of sailor; an eye for the beautiful or picturesque.

A small hole or perforation to receive a cord or fastener, as in garments, sails, etc.

only when times or circumstances are prosperous; as, a fair-weather friend. Fair-weather sailor, a make-believe or inexperienced sailor; -- the nautical equivalent of carpet knight.

ackward; to be left behind; as, a ship falls astern by the force of a current, or when outsailed by another. -- To fall away. (a) To lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine. (b) To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel. (c) To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize. "These . . . for a while b…

A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock windmill always in the direction of the wind. Clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. Is. xxx. 24.

es may be turned so as to move edgewise through the water when the vessel is moving under sail alone. -- Feathering wheel (Naut.), a paddle wheel whose floats turn automatically so as to dip about perpendicularly into the water and leave in it the same way, avoiding beating on the water in the descent and lifting wate…

A small, swift-sailing vessel, propelled by oars and lateen sails, -- once common in the Mediterranean.

To bring or get within reach by going; to reach; to arrive at; to attain; to reach by sailing. Meantine flew our ships, and straight we fetched The siren's isle. Chapman.

To press and dilate, as a sail; as, the wind filled the sails.

om, and generally made of metal. Its use is to ballast the boat and also to enable her to sail close to the wind and to make the least possible leeway by offering great resistance to lateral motion through the water.