What is the Latin word for sail?

The usual Latin words for “sail” are vēlum, nāvis, cēdō; also nāvigō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“sail” in Latin

vēluma cloth, covering, curtain, veil, awning; the sail of a ship; the soft palate nāvisship, boat, vessel; a fleet in the plural; nave (middle or body of a church)cēdōto go, move, proceed, go along, move along; to result, turn out, happen, yield; to withdraw, depart, retire, go away fro nāvigōto sail, navigate, seafare, embark

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

sail s.

PROP., velum. To set sail, vela facere: vela pandere (PROP. and figuratively; opposed to remigare, navem remis propellere; Vid: Cic., Tusc., 4, 4 and 5, § 9): solvere navem et vela ventis dare (to set all sails). To furl the sails, vela contrahere (also figuratively, as Hor., Od., 2, 10, 23): to strike sails, vela subducere (PROP.); cedere (figuratively = to give in, to yield): to an tie at a place with all sails set, velis passis aliquo pervehi (of persons): velo passo aliquo pervenire (of ships): to set sail = to loosen the ship, navem solvere: without sails, velis carens.

By metonymy = the whole ship, navis. A fleet of thirty sail, classis triginta navium.

Of a wind-mill, perhaps ala.

sail v.

To he conveyed, or pass, by sails, vela facere: vela pandere (opposed to remigare or navem remis propellere): navigare (to pass by ship). To sail to a place, vela dirigere ad aliquem locum; navem or cursum dirigere aliquo; tenere locum: he sailed for the place of his destination, cursum direxit, quo tendebat: to sail slowly, tardius cursum conficere: to sail very quickly, esse incredibili celeritate velis: to sail with a full, fair wind, pede aequo or pedibus aequis vehi: to sail with a half wind, pedem facere or proferre; ventum obliquum captare: to sail about, circumnavigare: to sail over, transvehi: trajicere: transmittere: to sail over with the fleet to Euboea, classem transvehere, transmittere in Euboeam (☞ transfretare, “to sail over the sea,” is a late word, for which the best writers said mare trajicere or transmittere): to see through, navigare: pernavigare (to sail all over): enavigare (to pass over by sailing in a certain time; e.g., to sail through the gulf in twelve days and nights, sinum duodecim dierum et noctium remigio, Plin., 9, 3, 2).

To set sail, solvere navem, or simply solvere (poetical, vela ventis dare). To sail with a fleet, classe navigare (but only with mention of the point to which one sails; e.g., to Macedonia, classe navigare in Macedoniam): to sail from land, a terra solvere: to sail from the harbor, e portu solvere: the ship sails, navis solvit; a terra provehitur navis. Ready to sail, ad navigandum paratus; paratus ad navigandum atque omnibus rebus instructus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for sail?: The usual Latin words for “sail” are vēlum, nāvis, cēdō; also nāvigō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.