Dictionary

bowsprit en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbəʊspɹɪt/
• (US) audio

Etymology

First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout).

Meanings

1. A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.
   • There lay the Ghost, bow on to the beach, her splintered bowsprit projecting over the sand, her tangled spars rubbing against her side to the lift of the crooning waves. Something must be done, must be done. 1904, Jack London, chapter 32, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

bowspritted · reefing bowsprit

Translations (27)

fi keulapuomi (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · it bompresso (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · fi puksprööti (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · cs čelen (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · eo busprito (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · cy bolsbryd (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · es bauprés (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ca bauprès (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · de Bugspriet (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · fi kokkapuu (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · et pukspriit (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · pl dziobak (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ja バウスプリット (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ru бушпри́т (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · cmn 船首斜桅 (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · cmn 艏斜桅 (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ang forþstemn (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · sv bogspröt (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ro bompres (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · fr beaupré (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · sw dasturi (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · bg бушприт (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · nl boegspriet (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · da bovspryd (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · pt gurupés (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · ang forþstefn (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel) · pl bukszpryt (spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel)