Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

topsail

/ˈtɑp.seɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.18 in modern English

Syllables
top-sail
IPA
/ˈtɑp.seɪl/
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship.

noun

In a fore-and-aft-rigged sailing boat, the sail that is set above the gaff at the top part of the mast.

name

A neighbourhood of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Etymology

From Middle English topsail, topsayl, topseyle, topsaill, equivalent to top + sail.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈtɑp.seɪl/
  • British English: /ˈtɒp.seɪl/

Inflected Forms

topsails (plural)

Derived Forms

foretopsail

Phrases

club topsail gaff-topsail Gaff Topsail

Frequently Paired Words

Gaff Topsail

Questions

How do you pronounce topsail?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɑp.seɪl/.
What does topsail mean?
A sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship.
Where does topsail come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce topsail

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “topsail”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɑp.seɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “topsail”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “topsail” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.