The lower corner or edge of a sail that billows out like a goose's wing when sailing downwind.
From English 'goose' + 'wing', referencing the resemblance of the billowing sail to a goose's outstretched wing. The nautical term emerged in sailing terminology around the 18th century.
Sailors were incredibly creative at naming parts of ships—they saw the natural world everywhere! This term shows how maritime workers used animal comparisons to describe complex sail configurations, making their technical knowledge memorable and poetic.
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