sailing

Pluralsailings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Movement across a body of water in a wind-powered craft, whether as a sport or otherwise.

   Coastal villages here treat sailing as both a livelihood and a weekend pleasure.

   After years of motorboats, he rediscovered the quiet of sailing.

   Similaryachting

   Note

   The noun is the old one, with relatives in Swedish segling and Icelandic sigling. It is stricter than the verb. A steamer can sail, but sailing as a pastime or sport means a craft driven by the wind, so motorboating is its natural contrast. A scheduled crossing by any ship is called a timetabled voyage instead.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of sail.

   The crew is sailing through rough seas tonight.

   Sailing past the lighthouse, they waved at the keeper.

   Note

   Two different older words now share this spelling. The participle comes from Middle English saylinge, a variant of sailende, whose -ende ending marked the participle. The noun senses, such as the wind-powered pastime, descend instead from Old English seġling. The participle covers every sense of sail, including movement through the air: a ball sailing over a fence, a guest sailing briskly into a room.

3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The art of navigation; the skill needed to operate and steer a vessel.

   Years before the mast had sharpened his sailing to an instinct.

   The academy tests sailing alongside navigation and weather knowledge.

   Similarseamanship, navigation

4. 4
   adjective

   Moving or traveling from one place to another by ship.

   The sailing pilgrims described weeks of storms before reaching the holy port.

   Sailing traders dominated the spice routes for centuries.

   Similarseafaring, seagoing

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A ship or ferry crossing or voyage that departs at a scheduled time.

   The afternoon sailing was delayed by high winds in the channel.

   Extra sailings are added between the islands during the summer rush.

   Similarcrossing, departure, voyage, service, trip

   Note

   Timetables count in this sense: a sailing, two sailings, the morning sailing. K. Westcott Jones, in "Parkeston Quay and the Antwerp Continental Service" (1951), records that March 1879 brought "a sailing every weekday to Rotterdam." The typical construction is a sailing to a destination, measured by how often it runs. It differs from the departure time, which names the moment a ship leaves rather than the trip itself.

6. 6
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The time at which a ship departs from a port.

   Fog pushed sailing back by three hours that morning.

   The crew completed final checks just minutes before sailing.

   Similardeparture, embarkation

   Oppositearrival

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