English

headsail

From head + sail.

A compound of head + sail

Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

…

Proto-Germanic *haubudą ‘head’

Proto-West Germanic *haubud

Old English hēafod ‘head’

Middle English heed ‘head’

English head

Proto-Germanic *seglą

Proto-West Germanic *segl

Old English seġl

Middle English saile

English sail

Today it means

noun Any sail (of a sailing vessel) set forward of the foremost mast.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / headsail