Brig
/brɪɡ/noun
A two-masted sailing vessel with square sails on both masts.
Did you know?Brig comes through Italian and French from a word for a two-masted square-rigged vessel, and its deeper origin is tied to the same root that gave us “brigand,” originally a fighter or bandit.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Italian
brigantino
“a small, fast two-masted vessel”
16th–17th Century
French
brigantin / brigantine
“a light, fast ship”
17th Century
English
brigantine
“a small two-masted sailing vessel”
18th Century
English
brig
“shortened form of brigantine, a two-masted square-rigged ship”
Modern English
English
brig
“a two-masted sailing vessel”