luff

1. 1. The act of sailing closer into the wind.
   2. The forward side of a fore-and-aft sail.
2. Archaic. The fullest part of the bow of a ship.

1. To steer a sailing vessel closer into the wind, especially with the sails flapping.
2. To flap while losing wind. Used of a sail.

1. To sail (a vessel, such as a yacht) closer into the wind during a race so as to prevent an opponent's craft from passing on the windward side.
2. To raise or lower (the boom of a crane or derrick).

[Middle English lof, spar holding out the windward tack of a square sail, from Old French, probably of Germanic origin.]

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: sailing close to the wind

The verb luff has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: sail close to the wind
  Synonym: point

Meaning #2: flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides; of sails

Look up luff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Luff or luffing may refer to:

• Luffing, when a sailing sheet is eased so far past trim that airflow over the surface is disrupted
• The leading edge of a sail
• Luffing crane, a type of crane where the jib, rather than being fixed, can be raised and lowered
• Luff, coined by Woody Allen in Annie Hall, is a term of endearment and is chatspeak for love
• LUFF is the yearly Lausanne Underground Film Festival, taking place in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Red

Surname

• Arthur P. Luff (1855-1938), British physician and forensic scientist
• Brian Luff (born 1957), British comedy writer
• John N. Luff (1860-1938), American philatelist
• Peter Luff (born 1955), British politician
• Peter Luff (campaigner) (born 1946)

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