I'm not an expert, but I believe you can sail closer to the wind with a lateen-rigged sail than with square sails.
Trapezoidal, actually. But the square sails were called square sails. Lateen or square could be referred to as yards.
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They were referred to as "four-cornered" sails.
Lateen Sails
Triangular-shaped sails helped catch wind from the sides and rear.
Square sails are not truly square but rectangular with a longer long side on the bottom perimeter of the sail. They were and are referred to as "four-cornered" sails.
One type is the "lateen sail", but there are also jibs; Genoa & spinnaker.
A caravel is one of the ships Columbus sailed in that has 2-4 masts and lateen sails.
Instruments: Lateen sails Improvments: Caravel
Lanteen sails were used by the ancient Egyptians and many other Mediterranean countries too
Lateen Sails