Definition of "foretopsail" [foretopsail]

• Nautical The sail hung from the foretopmast. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "At five P. M., the foresail and foretopsail were set, the rafts were cut away, and the ship bore for the Mauritius."
• "The wind was blowing from the sea; the jib and the foretopsail were hoisted, and the vessel gradually approached the island."
• "But the morning after, the wind changed, and the captain ordered the men to put up the foresail, and brigantine and foretopsail, which greatly lessened the rolling of the vessel."