North Sails is the world's largest sailmaker. Innovators in design they produce winners at every level of sailing.
This video from a North Sails designer demonstrates sail design and has some good visuals.
When I was a kid I read Scientific Sailboat Racing by Ted Wells. As you can see from the cover he was a small boat sailor - a champion in the 15' Snipe class. Like my boat. He was a lake sailor - from Topeka, of all places. But a sailboat's principles are the same - large or small, lake, river, or sea. That commonality is the fundamentally similar principles of fluid and aerodynamics.
I came to understand a sailboat as an airplane turned on its side, one wing in the water and the other in the air. Air and water work basically the same - both employ aerodynamic lift. 
In a sailboat it's the wing that provides drive. The centerboard/daggerboard or keel prevent sliding, converting transferring the pressure of aerodynamic lift into forward drive. That principle is behind the hydrofoiling America's Cup boats. In the video you will see that there is an `airplane' at the end of a long arm. The `wings' provide both lift (bringing the hull out of the water) and lateral stability.
In a sailboat it's the wing that provides drive. The centerboard/daggerboard or keel prevent sliding, converting transferring the pressure of aerodynamic lift into forward drive. That principle is behind the hydrofoiling America's Cup boats. In the video you will see that there is an `airplane' at the end of a long arm. The `wings' provide both lift (bringing the hull out of the water) and lateral stability.
The sail is a molded wing which provides aerodynamic lift which drives the boat forward.
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