Polacca

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large, flat-bottomed sailing vessel commonly used in the Mediterranean for trade
2. A type of ship characterized by a broad hull and typically rigged with sails, suitable for coastal navigation
3. A historically significant sailing craft designed for maritime commerce, often utilized in warmer waters

Etymology: The name "polacca" is Italian for "Polish woman" (feminine of "polacco", Polish), and it was applied to a type of ship, so the word carries a nationality into the nautical vocabulary. English borrowed it from Italian, and the ship it names was a broad-hulled, sail-rigged vessel suited to coastal work. Nothing in the source explains why Italian sailors chose a Polish label for this particular ship, so the reason for the nationality link is not something I can confirm. The word is therefore a straightforward borrowing: an Italian adjective used as a noun, carried over into English with its meaning intact. Its interest lies less in any twist of meaning than in the fact that a shipping term keeps the gender ending of the Italian language it came from.