forestay
noun, verb
forestay is spelled F-O-R-E-S-T-A-Y: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, forestay means “A stay that extends from the top of the foremast to the bow or bowsprit of a sailing ship” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of forestay is forestays.
How many letters and syllables are in forestay?
| Letters | 8: F-O-R-E-S-T-A-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 40 million words; the 194,306th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is forestay?
Forestay appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of forestay
- forestays plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- forstay
- forestaying participle, present
- forestayed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forestay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A stay that extends from the top of the foremast to the bow or bowsprit of a sailing ship
verb
- 1
To stay beforehand; secure or fasten with or as with a forestay.
- 2
To stay, delay, postpone, or hinder beforehand; forestall; prevent.
It is reasonable to suppose that further research into the complex bio-chemistry of the blood will result in more satisfactory substitutes for plasma than are now available and thereby death may be more easily forestayed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does forestay come from?
From Middle English forstay, forstey, vorstey, equivalent to fore- + stay (“a stay, rope”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).