Barkentine
/ˈbɑːrkənˌtiːn/noun
A sailing vessel with three or more masts, rigged with square sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails on the others.
Did you know?Barkentine comes through French from an older ship name tied to the bark, and the suffix -entine was added in English to mark the rigging type rather than any magical meaning.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
English
bark
“A small sailing ship; a ship type later used as the base for the modern term.”
17th Century
French
barque
“A small vessel or ship, especially one with a particular rig.”
Late 18th Century
English
barquentine
“A sailing vessel rigged like a barque, with square sails on only the foremast.”
19th Century
English
barkentine
“A variant spelling of barquentine, used for the same type of sailing vessel.”
Modern English
English
barkentine
“A three-masted or larger sailing vessel with square sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails on the others.”