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mast1
—mastless, adj. —mastlike, adj./mast, mahst/, n.1. Naut.a. a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.b. any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.c. any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.2. Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.3. any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.4. before the mast, Naut. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.v.t.5. to provide with a mast or masts.[bef. 900; ME; OE maest; c. G Mast; akin to L malus pole]mast2/mast, mahst/, n.the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.[bef. 900; ME; OE maest; c. G Mast; akin to MEAT]
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▪ foodin botany, nuts or fruits of trees and shrubs, such as beechnuts, acorns, and berries, that accumulate on the forest floor, providing forage for game animals and swine. Mast has also been used as human food and to fatten poultry. The phrase “a good mast year” refers to a period in which there is a heavy crop of wild nuts.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
