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sailing

 [sey-ling]   Origin

sail·ing

   [sey-ling]
noun
1.
the activity of a person or thing that sails.
2.
the departure of a ship from port: The cruise line offers sailings every other day.
3.
Navigation. any of various methods for determining courses and distances by means of charts or with reference to longitudes and latitudes, rhumb lines, great circles, etc.
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Origin:
before 900; Middle English seiling, Old English seglung. See sail, -ing1

Related forms
well-sail·ing, adjective

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Sailing is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

sail

   [seyl]
noun
1.
an area of canvas or other fabric extended to the wind in such a way as to transmit the force of the wind to an assemblage of spars and rigging mounted firmly on a hull, raft, iceboat, etc., so as to drive it along.
2.
some similar piece or apparatus, as the part of an arm that catches the wind on a windmill.
3.
a voyage or excursion, especially in a sailing vessel: They went for a sail around the island.
4.
a sailing vessel or ship.
5.
sailing vessels collectively: The fleet numbered 30 sail.
EXPAND
6.
sails for a vessel or vessels collectively.
7.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Vela.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
8.
to move along or travel over water: steamships sailing to Lisbon.
9.
to manage a sailboat, especially for sport.
10.
to begin a journey by water: We are sailing at dawn.
11.
to move along in a manner suggestive of a sailing vessel: caravans sailing along.
12.
to move along in a stately, effortless way: to sail into a room.
verb (used with object)
13.
to sail upon, over, or through: to sail the seven seas.
14.
to navigate (a vessel).
Verb phrase
15.
sail in/into, Informal.
a.
to go vigorously into action; begin to act; attack.
b.
to attack verbally: He would sail into his staff when work was going badly.
Idioms
16.
in sail, with the sails set.
17.
make sail, Nautical.
a.
to set the sail or sails of a boat or increase the amount of sail already set.
b.
to set out on a voyage: Make sail for the Leeward Islands.
18.
set sail, to start a sea voyage: We set sail at midnight for Nantucket.
19.
trim one's sails, Informal. to cut expenses; economize: We're going to have to trim our sails if we stay in business.
20.
under sail, with sails set; in motion; sailing: It was good to be under sail in the brisk wind and under the warm sun.
Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English sail(e), seille, Old English segl; cognate with German Segel, Old Norse segl; (v.) Middle English seillen, saylen, Old English siglan, seglian; cognate with Dutch zeilen, Old Norse sigla

Related forms
sail·a·ble, adjective
sail·less, adjective
un·sail·a·ble, adjective
un·sailed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To sailing
Collins
World English Dictionary
sailing (ˈseɪlɪŋ)
 
—n
1.  the practice, art, or technique of sailing a vessel
2.  a method of navigating a vessel: rhumb-line sailing
3.  an instance of a vessel's leaving a port: scheduled for a midnight sailing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sail
O.E. segl, from P.Gmc. *seglom (cf. Swed. segel, O.N. segl, O.Fris. seil, Du. zeil, O.H.G. segal, Ger. Segel), of obscure origin with no known cognates outside Gmc. Ir. seol, Welsh hwyl "sail" are Gmc. loan-words. Sometimes referred to PIE root *sek- "to cut," as if meaning "a cut piece of cloth." The
EXPAND
verb is O.E. segilan, from the same Gmc. source (cf. O.N. sigla, M.L.G. segelen, Ger. segeln).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

sailing

In summer 2007 the America's Cup completed its three-year course of almost continuous competition, with a spectacular final series between defending Alinghi of Switzerland and challenger Emirates Team New Zealand. The ACC boats-Alinghi and New Zealand, respectively-were equal in speed, and the crews were professional in their performance, after three years of full-time preoccupation with the quest for the Cup. After four races the two teams were tied at two races each before Alinghi went ahead four races to two. The seventh and final race saw the lead change numerous times, the last time at the finish line, and Alinghi won by a scant one-second margin as New Zealand completed a penalty just before finishing. It was an exciting encounter, displayed beautifully in 3-D animation online and by worldwide television, using racetrack software to provide an overhead view of the competition. Almost immediately, the Swiss team announced new conditions for the next challenge in 2009, some of which appeared to favour the defender. The potential challengers objected, and the American team Oracle filed an independent challenge to take place in 2008. The New York Trust Court would decide the case, determining what could be done under the terms of the Deed of Gift of the Cup

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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