Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

before the mast

 - 3 dictionary results
Telescoping Masts
Telescopic masts up to 165 feet Push Up, Electric, Pneumatic Models
www.floatograph.com
Before The Mast at Amazon
Millions of titles, new & used. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/books

mast

1  [mast, mahst]
Use before the mast in a Sentence
–noun
1. Nautical.
a. a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.
b. any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.
c. any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.
2. Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.
3. any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.
–verb (used with object)
4. to provide with a mast or masts.
—Idiom
5. before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE mæst; c. G Mast; akin to L mālus pole

Related forms:
mastless, adjective
mastlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To before the mast
Telescoping Masts
Telescopic masts up to 165 feet Push Up, Electric, Pneumatic Models
www.floatograph.com
Before The Mast at Amazon
Millions of titles, new & used. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/books
Word Origin & History

mast  (1)
"long pole on a ship to support the sail," O.E. mæst, from P.Gmc. *mastaz (cf. O.N. mastr, Du., Ger. mast), from PIE *mazdos "a pole, rod" (cf. L. malus "mast," O.Ir. matan "club," Ir. maide "a stick," O.C.S. mostu "bridge"). Masthead is from 1748 as "top of a ship's mast" (the place for the display of flags), hence, from 1838, "top of a newspaper." The single mast of an old ship was the boundary between quarters of officers and crew, hence before the mast in the title of Dana's book, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: MAST
Function: abbreviation
military antishock trousers
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see before the mast on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way