Luff Definition
lŭf
luffs
noun
luffs
The act of sailing close or closer to the wind.
Webster's New World
The forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Webster's New World
The fullest part of the bow of a ship.
American Heritage
verb
luffs
To turn the bow of a ship toward the wind; sail close or closer to the wind.
Webster's New World
To flap while losing wind. Used of a sail.
American Heritage
To flutter.
Webster's New World
To sail (a vessel, such as a yacht) closer into the wind during a race so as to prevent an opponent's craft from passing on the windward side.
American Heritage
To raise or lower the jib of a crane.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Origin of Luff
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Collins English Dictionary states that this word is ultimately derived from Middle Dutch loef. Ellert Ekwall's Shakspere's Vocabulary: its etymological elements (1903) related this verb and loof instead to the East Frisian verb lofen, lufen, which would make it cognate to the French term lover.
From Wiktionary
Middle English lof spar holding out the windward tack of a square sail from Old French probably of Germanic origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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