(a) (in some square-rigged vessels) a yard slung under the bowsprit to support a sail; = spritsail yard, n. (rare after Middle English, now historical…

Nautical. A spar running diagonally up from the mast to support the upper rear or outer corner of a sail.

Nautical. ‘A spar used in ships to extend the heads of fore-and-aft sails which are not set on stays’ (Adm. Smyth).

Nautical. Applied to a method of rigging in which the topmast slides up and down the lower mast on rings or hoops; a mast so rigged or a sail…