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Luffing

 - 3 dictionary results

luff

  [luhf]
Use Luffing in a Sentence
–noun Nautical.
1. the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
–verb (used without object)
2. to bring the head of a sailing ship closer to or directly into the wind, with sails shaking.
3. (of a sail) to shake from being set too close to the wind: The sail luffed as we put about for port.
4. to raise or lower the outer end of the boom of a crane or derrick so as to move its load horizontally.
–verb (used with object)
5. to set (the helm of a ship) in such a way as to bring the head of the ship into the wind.
6. to raise or lower the outer end of (the boom of a crane or derrick).
Origin:
1175–1225; ME lof, loof steering gear (cf. OF lof) < MD (unrecorded), later D loef tholepin (of tiller)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Luffing
luff   (lŭf)   
n.  

    1. The act of sailing closer into the wind.

    2. The forward side of a fore-and-aft sail.

  2. Archaic The fullest part of the bow of a ship.

v.   luffed, luff·ing, luffs

v.   intr.

  1. To steer a sailing vessel closer into the wind, especially with the sails flapping.

  2. To flap while losing wind. Used of a sail.

v.   tr.

  1. To sail (a vessel, such as a yacht) closer into the wind during a race so as to prevent an opponent's craft from passing on the windward side.

  2. To raise or lower (the boom of a crane or derrick).


[Middle English lof, spar holding out the windward tack of a square sail, from Old French, probably of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

luff 
c.1205, from O.Fr. lof, an obscure nautical device, or from M.Du. loef "windward side of a ship."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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