Barquentine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A three-masted sailing vessel with a square-rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main and mizzen masts
2. A merchant sailing ship having its front mast square-rigged and its rear masts rigged fore-and-aft
3. A three-masted seagoing vessel combining square sails on the foremost with fore-and-aft canvas on the other two masts

Etymology: The name is a blend built on the model of "brigantine," a light, fast two-masted vessel whose name came from Italian "brigantino," linked to "brigante," meaning brigand or raider. Builders then combined "barque," a three-masted ship from French "barque" and Italian "barca," with the "-entine" ending copied from that older name. The result described a hybrid rig. The rig is the point of the name. A barquentine carries square sails on its foremast, like a barque, but fore-and-aft sails on its other masts, like a schooner or brigantine. The mixed rigging let a smaller crew handle the ship more easily, which is why the type appeared in sailing fleets when shipping costs made efficiency important. The compound is transparent: it names a ship by blending the two rigs it borrowed from.

Synonyms: barkentine