What Does sail Mean
The first thing we are going to do to delve into the meaning of the term sail is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we have to state that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically it is the result of the sum of two components of that language:
-The verb "velare", which can be translated as "velar" or "cover".
-The suffix “-men”, which is used to indicate an “instrument” or a “tool”.
It called velamen to the compound set by candles that are part of a boat. The sail constitutes, together with the mast , the rigging and other elements, the rigging of the boat: that is, that which allows it to move thanks to the wind.
The wind acts directly on the canopy. According to the arrangement and shape of the sails, the force of the air is transmitted by the sails to the mast, rigging and yards and the thrust reaches the hull of the boat. Thus, finally, the vehicle moves through the water .
The first canopies were created thousands of years before Christ . The Romans, the Egyptians and the Chinese already used candles made of different materials (cotton, leather, hemp, papyrus and others) to move through the aquatic environment.
The sail can be made up of different types of sail. The square sail is the one with a trapezoidal or rectangular aspect, which operates at right angles to the course the boat is taking. The Latin sail , on the other hand, has a triangular shape and goes against the wind.
Within the square or square sails there are various types that are worth knowing, such as those of the mizzenmast, those of the ratchet or those of the mainmast.
On the other hand, with regard to lateen candles, we have to state that under that denomination are also included those whose sides are perfectly recognized. Specifically, one is called the pujamen, which is the one below; another is the luff, the side that is below and inside the boat; and the third, which is vertical and determines the height of the sails. The latter is what is known as leech.
Do not forget that the Latin candle has a variant, the hammer candle, which has a trapezoidal shape.
However, we cannot forget another important series of candles, among which the knife calls stand out. They are also called auriculars and have the peculiarity that they are oriented towards what is the center of the ship in question. That without overlooking that they are spanned on the stick.
It is important to mention that the notion of sails also appears in the field of botany . In this case, velamen is the name of a rhizodermis (the epidermis of the root ) that is composed, in its maturity, of cells that are not alive.
The veloziáceas, the sedges, the orchids and the araceae are some of the plants that have sails, which is a kind of sheath that covers the root. There are those who maintain that the canopy is responsible for the absorption of water , although this capacity could not be confirmed yet.