mast

C2+ Topic:Maritime & Sailing

US /mæst/ UK /mɑːst/ See IPA manual

Freq #16434

Meanings

1

noun
The fruit of forest-trees (beech, oak, chestnut, pecan, etc.), especially if having fallen from the tree, used as fodder for pigs and other animals.

She ſhut them ſtraight in ſties; and gaue them meate / Oke-maſt, and beech, and Cornell fruite, they eate, […].
2

verb
To produce a very large quantity of fruit or seed in certain years but not others.

Any individual tree which masted in a generally non-mast year would be subjected to the exclusive attention of the seed predators and so would be selected against.
3

noun
A type of heavy cue, with the broad end of which one strikes the ball.

Godfrey thus conquered, pretended to lose his temper, curs'd his own ill luck, swore that the table had a cast, and that the balls did not run true, changed his mast, and with great warmth challenged his enemy to double his sum.
4

noun
a vertical spar for supporting sails

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms masts

Derived forms foremasthalf-mastjiggermastmack mainmastmast-cellmastheadmasthousemastlessmastlikemastmanmastrope

Etymology

From Middle English mast, from Old English mæst (“mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *mast, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“mast, sail-pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *mazdos (“pole, mast”). Cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast, and via Indo-European with Latin mālus, Russian мост (most, “bridge”), Irish adhmad.

Topics

Maritime & Sailing Nature & Landscape

External links

# mast

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /mæst/
**IPA (UK):** /mɑːst/
**Frequency rank:** 16434

## Meanings
1. The fruit of forest-trees (beech, oak, chestnut, pecan, etc.), especially if having fallen from the tree, used as fodder for pigs and other animals.
2. To produce a very large quantity of fruit or seed in certain years but not others.
3. A type of heavy cue, with the broad end of which one strikes the ball.
4. a vertical spar for supporting sails

## Examples
- She ſhut them ſtraight in ſties; and gaue them meate / Oke-maſt, and beech, and Cornell fruite, they eate, […].
- Any individual tree which masted in a generally non-mast year would be subjected to the exclusive attention of the seed predators and so would be selected against.
- Godfrey thus conquered, pretended to lose his temper, curs'd his own ill luck, swore that the table had a cast, and that the balls did not run true, changed his mast, and with great warmth challenged his enemy to double his sum.

## Derived Forms
- foremast
- half-mast
- jiggermast
- mack
- mainmast
- mast-cell
- masthead
- masthouse
- mastless
- mastlike
- mastman
- mastrope

## Etymology
From Middle English mast, from Old English mæst (“mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *mast, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“mast, sail-pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *mazdos (“pole, mast”). Cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast, and via Indo-European with Latin mālus, Russian мост (most, “bridge”), Irish adhmad.

## Topics
- Maritime & Sailing
- Nature & Landscape

markdown