schooner

Definition

A sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a mainmast.

Etymology

Attested ca. 1715, of uncertain origin. Said to be derived from dialectal scoon (“to skim over water”). Compare also shunt (“to cause to move (suddenly)”).

Example Sentences

• "The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land."
• "Designed by Frank Payne's renowned Boston design office, and built in 1928 of longleaf yellow pine, this 82-footer has been a racing schooner — a staysail schooner — since the heyday of Class-A ocean racing in schooners during the late 1920s and early 1930s."
• "In addition to the square-rigged sailing ships, the schooners were the second largest group of large sailing vessels."