luffing

luff

L l

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [luhf]
- /lʌf/
- /ˈlʌf.ɪŋ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [luhf]
- /lʌf/

Definitions of luffing word

noun luffing the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail. 1
verb without object luffing to bring the head of a sailing ship closer to or directly into the wind, with sails shaking. 1
verb without object luffing (of a sail) to shake from being set too close to the wind: The sail luffed as we put about for port. 1
verb without object luffing to raise or lower the outer end of the boom of a crane or derrick so as to move its load horizontally. 1
verb with object luffing to set (the helm of a ship) in such a way as to bring the head of the ship into the wind. 1
verb with object luffing to raise or lower the outer end of (the boom of a crane or derrick). 1

See all 7 definitions of luffing

Information block about the term

Origin of luffing

First appearance:

before 1175

One of the 8% oldest English words

1175-1225; Middle English lof, loof steering gear (compare Old French lof) < Middle Dutch (unrecorded), later Dutch loef tholepin (of tiller)

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Luffing

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Luffing

luffing popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 81% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

According to our data about 64% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

luffing usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer