mastros

Mastros is a Portuguese plural noun formed from mastro, meaning a mast. A mast is the vertical spar or pole on a sailing vessel from which sails are set, and it can also refer to tall poles used for flags, banners, or antennas on buildings and ships. In nautical and architectural Portuguese texts, mastros denotes multiple masts, whether on ships with several masts or on structures that resemble a mast.

The term is primarily used in Portuguese-language contexts. In Spanish, the corresponding word for a ship’s mast is mástil, and in English the equivalent term is mast. As a result, mastros is uncommon outside Lusophone texts, and when encountered in English it is typically within quotations or as a proper name. Mastros does not denote a widely recognized concept, organization, or movement in its own right.

In addition to its ordinary linguistic use, mastros may appear as a proper noun in personal names or place names in Portuguese-speaking regions, and may thus appear in historical or genealogical records.