sailers

Sailers is a plural form that can refer to two related concepts in nautical language, but it is uncommon in modern English. The term may denote either a person who sails or a vessel that uses sails. In contemporary usage, the standard word for a person who sails is sailor; sailer as a person is largely archaic or dialectal and appears mainly in historical accounts or older nautical texts. For ships, sailer can historically mean a sailing vessel, but today most writers would use sailing vessel, sailboat, or ship with sails.

When referring to people, sailors are those who navigate and operate ships, often as crew or officers. The form sailer for an individual is rare outside of older documents, and using it can create ambiguity or appear antiquated. When describing vessels, a sailing vessel or sail-powered ship is preferred in modern contexts; sailer as a vessel term is encountered mainly in archival sources or specialized discussions of historical fleets.

Etymology follows the pattern of agent-noun formation from the verb sail, with the suffix -er. The word thus reflects both agency (one who sails) and, in historical usage, a type of vessel. In most contemporary maritime writing, clarity is achieved by using sailor for people and sailing vessel or sailboat for ships.

See also: Sailor, Sailboat, Sailing vessel, Seafaring.