stunsail Naut.
(ˈstʌns(ə)l)
Also stu'n-sail, stun'-sail, stunsel.
Contraction, representing the ordinary pronunciation, of studding-sail.
| 1762 Falconer Shipwr. i. 225 Now swelling stu'n-sails on each side extend. 1863 Reade Hard Cash I. xi. 267 All hands set stunsels 'low and aloft! 1913 M. Roberts Salt of the Sea ix. 216 His ears [were] large and outstanding, like a couple of stunsails. |
| attrib. 1825 H. B. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 49 The Stunsail Booms they raise. 1850 H. Melville White Jacket xlv, I..was ordered to reeve anew the stun'-sail-halyards. |