An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Besanmast

by Friedrich Kluge

Besánmast, masculine, ‘mizzen-mast,’ Besánsegel, neuter, ‘mizzen-sail’, from Dutch bezaan, ‘mast nearest the stern of a ship,’ which is connected with English mizzen, French mizaine, Italian mezzana (the Romance word, a derivative of Latin medius, is properly ‘middle-mast’).