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mast

- 16 dictionary results

mast

1  [mast, mahst]
Use 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

mast

2  [mast, mahst]
–noun
the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE mæst; c. G Mast; akin to meat

mast-

 
var. of masto- before a vowel: mastectomy.

masto-

 
a combining form meaning “breast,” used in the formation of compound words: mastopathy.
Also, especially before a vowel, mast-.

Origin:
comb. form repr. Gk mastós breast
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mast 1   (māst)   
n.  
  1. Nautical A tall vertical spar, sometimes sectioned, that rises from the keel or deck of a sailing vessel to support the sails and the standing and running rigging.
    1. A vertical pole.
    2. A tall vertical antenna, as for a radio.
  3. A captain's mast.

[Middle English, from Old English mæst.]
mast 2   (māst)   
n.  The nuts of forest trees accumulated on the ground, used especially as food for swine.

[Middle English, from Old English mæst.]
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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Mast

Mast\, n. [AS. m[ae]st, fem.; akin to G. mast, and E. meat. See Meat.] The fruit of the oak and beech, or other forest trees; nuts; acorns.

Oak mast, and beech, . . . they eat. --Chapman.

Swine under an oak filling themselves with the mast. --South.

Mast

Mast\, n. [AS. m[ae]st, masc.; akin to D., G., Dan., & Sw. mast, Icel. mastr, and perh. to L. malus.]

1. (Naut.) A pole, or long, strong, round piece of timber, or spar, set upright in a boat or vessel, to sustain the sails, yards, rigging, etc. A mast may also consist of several pieces of timber united by iron bands, or of a hollow pillar of iron or steel.

The tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast Of some great ammiral.

--Milton.

Note: The most common general names of masts are foremast, mainmast, and mizzenmast, each of which may be made of separate spars.

2. (Mach.) The vertical post of a derrick or crane.

Afore the mast, Before the mast. See under Afore, and Before.

Mast coat. See under Coat.

Mast hoop, one of a number of hoops attached to the fore edge of a boom sail, which slip on the mast as the sail is raised or lowered; also, one of the iron hoops used in making a made mast. See Made.

Mast

Mast\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Masted; p. pr. & vb. n. Masting.] To furnish with a mast or masts; to put the masts of in position; as, to mast a ship.

Mast

Mast\, n. (A["e]ronautics) A spar or strut to which tie wires or guys are attached for stiffening purposes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : mast
Spanish: mástil,
German: der Mast,
Japanese: マスト
More Translations »

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.

mast  (2)
"fallen nuts; food for swine," O.E. mæst, from P.Gmc. *mastaz (cf. Du., Ger. mast "mast," O.E. verb mæsten "to fatten, feed"), perhaps from PIE *mazdo-/*maddo- "to be fat, to flow" (cf. Skt. meda "fat," Goth. mats "food," see meat).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: MAST
Function: abbreviation
military antishock trousers
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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mast

see at half-mast.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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MAST
military antishock trousers
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

mast

in botany, nuts or fruits of trees and shrubs, such as beechnuts, acorns, and berries, that accumulate on the forest floor, providing forage for game animals and swine. Mast has also been used as human food and to fatten poultry. The phrase "a good mast year" refers to a period in which there is a heavy crop of wild nuts

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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