Wiktionary
backstays
n. (plural of backstay English)
Usage examples of "backstays".
Steelkilt was shaking one of the backstays leading far aloft to where two of his comrades were standing their mastheads.
Concerned, moreover, for the safety of his masts, the loss of which he acknowledged must be fatal, he had the shrouds well overhauled and the backstays considerably tightened.