What does masting mean?
Masting is the nautical process of putting a ship's masts into place, including raising, stepping, and securing them. It also has a less common collective sense: the masts belonging to a vessel, especially when their arrangement or appearance is being emphasized. The term is used in shipbuilding, restoration, maritime history, and descriptions of traditional sailing craft. In phrases such as “masting and rigging,” it stands apart from the related work of fitting ropes, cables, sails, and other rigging. Although modern powered ships do not normally have masts in the functional sense, the word remains important in preserving the vocabulary of sailboats, tall ships, and shipyards. Its historical flavour comes largely from the age of wooden vessels, when fitting a ship's spars correctly was a skilled and consequential operation.
nounThe process of raising, installing, or fitting masts on a vessel. More rarely, it refers collectively to a ship's masts.
- The operation or process of installing, raising, and securing a vessel's masts.
- The masts of a vessel considered collectively.
"The shipwright supervised the careful masting of the restored sailing vessel."
"The dockyard offered courses in traditional shipbuilding, including masting and rigging."
"The vessel's fine masting and long tapering spars gave it the appearance of speed even at rest."
The process is normally treated as uncountable, so a plural is generally unnecessary.
"The final masting of the vessel was completed at the end of the restoration."
Long before engines took ships across the oceans, crews hoisted, secured, and stepped the masts that made sailing possible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does masting come from?
The word is formed from the English noun “mast” with the noun-forming suffix “-ing.” “Mast” continues Old English mæst and ultimately Proto-Germanic *mastaz; the precise origin of that ancient word is uncertain. The nautical use developed from the process of placing and securing the principal upright spars that supported a vessel's sails.
Related word forms
How masting is actually used
This is chiefly nautical and technical terminology. In the second sense, it is literary or historical and normally refers collectively to a ship's masts.