lateen

Noun

lateen (plural lateens)

1. A triangular fore-and-aft sail set on a boom in such way that the tack is attached to the hull of the vessel and the free end of the boom lifts the sail.
   • The shape of the lateen sail is triangular, or precisely that of a large fore-sail; it requires a long tapering yard to spread it, which will slightly bow or bend towards the middle when a stiff breeze fills the sail; a boom is used for some lateen sails, but not for all.1853, Henry Coleman Folkard, The Sailing Boat: A Description of English and Foreign Boats, page 75
   • Not only is its supporting and controlling rigging best suited to that sail position but, even more important, the sail itself thus presents a rigid leading-edge: the mast, in the case of most modern sailboats, or the yardarm to which the sail is attached, in the case of the medieval Mediterranean...
   • Fore-and-aft rigs come in a variety of shapes, but the medieval Mediterranean lateen was triangular, and this too was an asset.1976, Barbara M. Kreutz, “Ships, Shipping and the Implications of Change in the Medieval Mediterranean”, in Henrik M. Birnbaum, Patrick K. Ford, Hnry Ansgar Kelly, Richard H. Rouse, Speros Vryonis...