sail, noun

Origin:
DutchShow more Calque formed on Dutch zeil, seil tarpaulin, wagon tilt.
1.
a. tent sense 1 a. b. A canvas sheet or tarpaulin; also transferred sense, nylon or plastic sheeting. Also attributive. See also bucksail, skerm sense d.
1820 G. Barker Journal. 19 Dec.Began to mend the sail of the waggon.
1850 J.D. Lewins Diary. 3 Feb.Saw his son’s wagon, which when new cost only £54/10/ complete, sail & all, without boxes at Cocroft’s in Graham’s Town.
1874 A.O. Wood Diary.We left Jacobsdal where we had a very heavy storm the sail Blowing in the air and I & Mr Winter holding on fast as we could.
1882 C. Du Val With Show through Sn Afr. I. 235Just in time to get under the sail-cover of the bullock waggon and dodge a severe thunderstorm that rattled over us.
1882 C. Du Val With Show through Sn Afr. I. 250Canvas sails attached to the top of the waggon sides and pegged to the ground formed a tent of some capacity.
1883 M.A. Carey-Hobson Farm in Karoo 134You’ll get up into the back of the waggon, and I’ll tie the sail down tight. I suppose you have made the beds already.
1907 J.P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld 423Crouching under the waggon where I had crept down to lash the sail, I looked out at the deluge, hesitating whether to make a dash for my tent-waggon or remain there.
1913 A. Glossop Barnes’s S. Afr. Hsehold Guide 309Take a sharp penknife or thin sail-needle, and..pierce the skin.
1931 V. Sampson Kom Binne 262Impromptu tents were made with canvas ‘sails’ let down the side of a waggon or stretched out on poles along it.
1951 J. Wedgewood Last of Radicals 59A sail spread on the square did for a dance floor, until Josiah ordered a wooden one from Durban and inaugurated it with a masked ball.
1979 Farmer’s Weekly 11 Apr. 122 (advt)Sails & tents...Pool cover. Black plastic, 6m by 12m.
1979 Farmer’s Weekly 5 Nov. 147 (advt)Our sail material is ideal for hard work.
1987 Grocott’s Mail 6 Oct. 2The sail covering fully laden plastic crates broke loose from the side of a truck as it was negotiating the bend at the bottom of Southwell Road.
2. With distinguishing epithet:
car sail, a protective (nylon or plastic) cover for a motor car;
tent sail or wagon sail, (canvas used for) the tilt of a wagon; cf. wagon-tent (see tent sense 1 b).
1968 Farmer’s Weekly 3 Jan. 96 (advt)Protect your car. New Car Sails at factory prices; 9 x 12 at R6.60.
1832 Graham’s Town Jrnl 27 July 118The Undersigned..has at present in his stores, Tent Sail, Navy blue Prints, Foolscap.
1895 H. Rider Haggard Nada 2Took refuge on the second wagon, drawing a tent-sail over them.
1858 T. Shone Diary. 8 Jan.I finish’d Banks waggon sail, he paid me 7/6 for it.
1866 E.L. Price Jrnls (1956) 165Drops of water..inside the wagon-sail have been frozen into cakes of ice by the morning.
1919 Dunell, Ebden & Co.’s Price List Aug. 33Wagon Sails, Green Proofed. 16 x 30, in bales of 6.
1932 Grocott’s Daily Mail 13 Jan. 116 ft. Wagon with half tent, in good order, Wagon Sail, Trek Gear.
1947 H.C. Bosman Mafeking Rd 103I was leaving early in the morning for Zeerust with a load of mealies and I wanted to borrow Krisjan’s wagon-sail.
1976 A.P. Brink Instant in Wind 17The wind..has blown steadily through the days,..tugging the wagon sail from the plaited reeds of the bodywork and shredding it to bits.
A canvas sheet or tarpaulin; also transferred sense, nylon or plastic sheeting. Also attributive.
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sage-wood, nounn.Saint, nounn.
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