Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Spencer

Spencer , noun

[Old French despensier. See Spence, and compare Dispenser.]

One who has the care of the spence, or buttery. [Obsolete] — Promptorium Parvulorum

Spencer , noun

[From the third Earl Spencer, who first wore it, or brought it into fashion.]

A short jacket worn by men and by women. — Ld. Lutton

Spencer , noun

(Nautical) A fore-and-aft sail, abaft the foremast or the mainmast, hoisted upon a small supplementary mast and set with a gaff and no boom; a trysail carried at the foremast or mainmast; -- named after its inventor, Knight Spencer, of England [1802].
Collocations (1)
Spencer mast , a small mast just abaft the foremast or mainmast, for hoisting the spencer. — R. H. Dana, Jr