Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Mizzen

Mizzen , adjective

[Italian mezzana, from mezzano middle, from mezzo middle, half: compare French misaine foresail. See Mezzo.]

(Nautical) Hindmost; nearest the stern; as, the mizzen shrouds, sails, etc.

Mizzen , noun

(Nautical) The hindmost of the fore and aft sails of a three-masted vessel; also, the spanker.