bowsprit

Where does the word "bowsprit" come from? It comes from Middle Low German boegspriet, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Bowsprit’s story begins in Middle Low German: boegspriet meant “bow pole.” 'boeg', bow of a ship, plus 'spriet', pole. It reached English by 1300s as bowsprit. Used for the spar projecting forward from a ship's bow. Today, bowsprit means a spar projecting from the bow of a sailing ship.

1. Stage 1 · Middle Low German · medieval boegspriet "bow pole", 'boeg', bow of a ship, plus 'spriet', pole.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s bowsprit "a forward-projecting spar", used for the spar projecting forward from a ship's bow.