Link Centre Dictionary

luff

UK/lʊf/ US/lʌf/ uncommon
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

sailing close to the wind

verb

1.

sail close to the wind

Synonyms
2.

flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides

  • “the sails luffed”

Origin

From Old French lof. Collins English Dictionary states that this word is ultimately derived from Middle Dutch loef. Ellert Ekwall's Shakspere's Vocabulary: its etymological elements (1903) related this verb and loof instead to the East Frisian verb lofen, lufen, which would make it cognate to the French term lover.

Phrases

  • choke the luff
  • luff alee
  • luff round
  • luff tackle
  • luff up
  • luff upon luff
  • luffing crane
  • spring the luff

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.