sailyarn

English

Alternative forms

• sail-yarn, sail yarn

Etymology

From Middle English *sayl-yarn, *seyl-ȝarn, equivalent to sail +‎ yarn. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sailjäiden, West Frisian seiljern, Dutch zeilgaren, German Low German Seilgaarn, German Segelgarn, Danish sejlgarn, Swedish segelgarn, Icelandic seglgarn.

Noun

sailyarn (countable and uncountable, plural sailyarns)

1. Yarn used in the manufacture, repair, or rigging of sails; sailing-twine.
   • 1809, Sir John Carr, Caledonian Sketches, Or, A Tour Through Scotland in 1807:

     It is chiefly, for the present, confined to the manufacture of sail-yarns, and of plain goods; but it is yet in its infancy, and will, perhaps, soon extend its limits, as well as its variety of manufactures.

   • 1936, Burma Research Society, The Journal, volumes 26-27, page 15:

     In 1636 the Bommel arrived in Batavia with a cargo described as 1058 carra or 148 lasts of white rice, 210 slaves both male and female, 12 chests and 4 baskets of indigo, 1 maund or basket of wax and 1 basket of sailyarn, the whole valued at 11,933 florins.

   • 1956, Studies in the Social Sciences, page 177:

     Flax and hemp: ropes of all kinds, sailyarn, and sailcoth.