Tacking Lets a Boat Travel Against the Wind
A tack is a small nail. It is also a sailing manoeuvre and a change of approach.
A tack is a short nail with a broad head, a temporary stitch, or a sailing manoeuvre. In sailing, a tack is a leg of a zigzag course sailed at an angle to the wind, and *to tack* is to turn the bow through the wind onto the opposite leg. Since no boat sails directly upwind, tacking is the only way to get there. That gives *a different tack*, meaning a changed approach. A separate *tack* is horse equipment, short for *tackle*.
- A short nail. *A carpet tack.*
- A sailing leg. *On the starboard tack.*
- A change of approach. *A different tack.*
- Horse equipment. *Riding tack.*
- Old French — *tache*, a fastening. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tack | A tack. |
| Verb | tack | Tacking. |
| Compound | thumbtack | A thumbtack. |
| Related | tackle | Tackle. |
| Old French | tache | A fastening. |
- He hammered in a tack.Nail.
- The yacht tacked upwind.Sailing.
- Let us try a different tack.Idiom.
Tacking and gybing
- Tacking turns the bow through the wind
- Gybing turns the stern through it instead
- Tacking is used when sailing upwind
- Gybing is used when sailing downwind
- A gybe is more violent and can be dangerous
Old French *tache*, a fastening or clasp, of Germanic origin.
What does tacking mean in sailing?
Turning the bow through the wind to change from one zigzag leg to the other, the only way to make progress upwind.
Where does a different tack come from?
From that manoeuvre, meaning to change course and approach the goal from another angle.