lateen sail and yard

The Sailor's Word-Book

A long triangular sail, bent by its foremost leech to a lateen yard, which hoists obliquely to the mast; it is mostly used by xebecs, feluccas, &c., in the Mediterranean. A gaff-topsail, if triangular and set on a yard, is lateen. The term lateen-rigged, where sails have short tacks, is wrong. These latter are nothing more or less than clumsy lugs or quadrilaterals. The lateen tack is the yard-arm bowsed amidships.

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