xebec Hear it!

xebec definition

xe·bec (zē′bek)

noun

a small, three-masted ship having an overhanging bow and stern and both square and lateen sails: once common in the Mediterranean

Etymology: altered (infl. by Sp form) < earlier chebec < Fr chébec < It sciabecco, prob. via Sp xabeque (now jabeque) < Ar shabbāk, a small warship

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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