Forstay

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A heavy rope or wire running forward from the top of a sailing vessel's mast to support it against backward pull
2. The stay that braces a ship's mast toward the bow, keeping it upright when the sails are set
3. A taut line extending from the masthead toward the front of a boat to steady the mast

Etymology: A forestay is the rope, or wire in modern boats, that runs from the top of a ship's mast down to the bow, holding the mast steady against backward pressure. The name is a compound of "fore," meaning toward the front of the ship, and "stay," a word that has meant a support or rope since Old English, when "stæg" named a rope used to brace masts. Sailors built the term plainly from those two parts, describing exactly where the rope ran. The "fore" in the word is the same element found in "forecastle" and "foremast," and its opposite is the "backstay," which runs from the masthead toward the stern. Together these ropes form a pair that keeps the mast upright from both directions. The compound is a straightforward descriptive coinage from nautical use, so its history is simply that of its two components.