Naut. Forms: 4 love, 6–8 loff, louffe, 7 looff, loufe, luffe, Sc. luif, 6–8 loof(e, 6– luff. [f. LUFF sb.1; cf. Du. loeven, F. lofer.]
1. intr. To bring the head of a ship nearer to the wind; to steer or sail nearer the wind; to sail in a specified direction with the head kept close to the wind. Also with advs., † by, in, off, to, up, etc. Luff round or alee: see quot. 1769.
1390. Gower, Conf., II. 369. So nyh the weder thei wol love.
1557. W. Towrson, in Hakluyt, Voy. (1589), 119. He loffed too and was able to lie as neere as he did before.
1578. Best, Frobisher’s 2nd Voy., in Hakluyt (1600), III. 64. Hauing mountaines of fleeting yce on euery side, we went roomer for one, and loofed for another.
1579–80. North, Plutarch, Antonius (1595), 999. He was driuen also to loofe off to haue more roome.
1591. Raleigh, Last Fight Rev. (Arb.), 19. The ships that wer vnder his lee luffing vp, also laid him aboarde.
a. 1600. Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, xlviii. 143. Come no lauer, bot luif a lytill we.
1600. Hakluyt’s Voy., III. 589. The vice-admirall of the Spaniards … loofed by and gaue the Concord the two first great shot.
1687. B. Randolph, Archipelago, 61. The ship … luffing too near the great island.
1697. Dampier, Voy. (1729), I. 550. We lufft in for the Downs.
1697. Dryden, Æneid, V. 23. Contract your swelling sails and luff to Wind.
1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), s.v., To Loof into a Harbour, is to sail into it close by the Wind.
1748. Anson’s Voy., II. i. 112. By means of the head-way we had got, we loofed close in.
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1780), Luff, the order … to put the helm towards the lee-side of the ship [etc.]… Hence, luff round, or luff alee; the excess of this movement by which it is intended to throw the ship’s head up in the wind, in order to tack her, &c.
1806. A. Duncan, Nelson, 110. He had the satisfaction to luff under his stern.
1833. Marryat, P. Simple, xv. ‘Luff now, all you can, quarter-master,’ cried the captain.
1840. R. H. Dana, Bef. Mast, xxxvi. 136. She luffed at the same moment, and we just passed one another.
a. 1895. Ld. Clarence Paget, Autobiog., i. (1896), 8. The unfortunate vessel was in a sinking state,… she luffed up and grounded on the rocks.
2. trans. To bring the head of (a vessel) nearer to the wind. Also with up. Also luff the helm (the call or order to the steersman).
1606. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., VI. x. 18. She once being looft, The Noble ruine of her Magicke, Anthony, Claps on his Sea-wing, and … flyes after her.
1694. Motteux, Rabelais, IV. xxii. (1737), 95. Loff, loff, cry’d the Quarter-master … keep her full, loff the Helm. Loff: it is, answer’d the Steerman.
1800. Weems, Washington, xi. (1810), 137. Washington … with a hard-a-lee, luffed up his ship at once to the gale.
1831. Trelawney, Adv. Younger Son, cv. We carefully luffed her up to the wind.
3. In yacht-racing: To get the windward side of (an opponent). Also with away.
1894. Times, 23 July, 11/2. Vigilant at once began to luff Britannia.
1898. Daily News, 22 Sept., 3/2. In four or five lengths she was alongside and to windward. She failed, however, to luff her antagonist away.
† 4. To attach (the anchor) to the ship’s luff.
1627. Capt. Smith, Seaman’s Gram., ix. 38. Loofe fast your Anchor with your shank-painter.
Hence Luffing vbl. sb.; luffing-match, a struggle for ‘weather berth’ (between racing yachts).
1775. Ash, Suppl., Loofing, the act of bringing to the wind.
1886. J. M. Caulfeild, Seamanship Notes, 2. Luffing … would be correct.
1893. Westm. Gaz., 9 Aug., 4/1. Plenty of luffing matches took place.
1896. Daily News, 2 July, 4/4. Satanita soon made an attempt for Britannia’s weather, but Carter put his boat sharply up and a determined luffing match ensued.
