Pinke

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A small, narrow-sterned sailing ship of the past ; to punch or cut ornamental holes or scalloped edges into fabric or leather
2. An old type of small sailing boat with a narrow stern ; to make decorative perforations or notched edges in cloth or leather
3. A slender, narrow-sterned vessel used historically for sailing ; to decorate material by piercing it with small ornamental cuts

Etymology: Before it named a flower or a shade of rose, "pink" was a ship. The term came into English from Dutch "pinke," a small, sturdy vessel with a narrow, overhanging stern, and English sailors adopted it for similar craft. A separate English verb, "pink," meaning to pierce or cut small decorative holes or a scalloped edge into cloth or leather, shares the spelling, and the two are sometimes linked, though the exact connection is uncertain. That sense gives us tailors' "pinking shears." The flower may have been named for the notched, pinked look of its petal edges, which is the likeliest explanation.

Synonyms: pink