Also spinniker. [Said to have been a fanciful formation on spinx, mispronunciation of Sphinx, the name of the first yacht which commonly carried the sail.] A large three-cornered sail carried by racing yachts, boomed out at right angles to the vessel’s side, opposite to the mainsail, and used in running before the wind. Also attrib.
1866. Yachting Cal. & Rev., Aug., 84. The Sphinx [set] a ‘spinniker,’ a kind of large balloon jib extending from the topmast head to the deck, and before the wind a most powerful drawing sail.
1869. Hunt’s Yachting Mag., June, 266. Eva sent up her spinnaker boom in lieu of a topmast. Ibid., Oct., 450. Rosebud’s crew especially deserve great credit for their smartness in handling their troublesome customer, i.e. the spinnaker.
1886. R. C. Leslie, Sea-painter’s Log, 89. The rig of the sailing-boats looks like a conglomeration of spinnakers.
