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backstay

 - 3 dictionary results
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back⋅stay

1  [bak-stey]
Use backstay in a Sentence
–noun
1. Machinery. a supporting or checking piece in a mechanism.
2. Building Trades. an anchored tension member, as a cable, permanently or temporarily supporting a compression member, as a tower or pole, subject to a pull above its base from the opposite direction.
3. a strip of leather at the back of a shoe used for reinforcement and sometimes to connect the quarters.
Origin:
1860–65; back 1 + stay 2
CAUTION HORSES
"DO Make a Difference at Night!" Reflective Horse Signs & Decals
www.CAUTIONHORSES.com
Backstay
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back⋅stay

2  [bak-stey]
–noun
Nautical. any of various shrouds forming part of a vessel's standing rigging and leading aft from masts above a lower mast to the sides or stern of the vessel in order to reinforce the masts against forward pull.
Origin:
1620–30; back 1 + stay 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To backstay
back·stay   (bāk'stā')   
n.  

  1. A rope or shroud extending from the top of a mast aft to a ship's side or stern to help support the mast.

  2. A supporting device at or for the back of something else.

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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