Sloop
/sluːp/noun
A small sailing vessel with one mast and a fore-and-aft rig, or a similar modern small boat.
Did you know?Sloop is a borrowing from Dutch *sloep*, and the same seafaring root also gave English the word *shallop*, showing how ship names could drift across languages as easily as they drifted across seas.
Etymological Timeline
Early 17th Century
Dutch
sloep
“A small boat or vessel, especially one used for transport or service”
17th Century
English
sloop
“A small sailing vessel, especially a single-masted one”
18th Century
English
sloop
“A small warship or merchant vessel of a particular rig”
Modern English
English
sloop
“A small sailing vessel with one mast and a fore-and-aft sail plan”