[spin-uh-ker] 
| a large, usually triangular sail carried by a yacht as a headsail when running before the wind or when the wind is abaft the beam. |
| spin·na·ker (spĭn'ə-kər) n. A large triangular sail set on a spar that swings out opposite the mainsail, used on yachts when running before the wind. [Perhaps ultimately from Sphinx, name of the first yacht to use such a sail, or spin, to move rapidly (variant of Scots spene, to run before the wind; see spindrift).] |