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caravel - 5 dictionary results
car⋅a⋅vel
[kar-uh-vel] 
–noun
| a small Spanish or Portuguese sailing vessel of the Middle Ages and later, usually lateen-rigged on two or three masts. |
Also, carvel.
Origin:
1520–30; < MF car(a)velle < Pg caravela, equiv. to cárav(o) kind of ship (< LL carabus a small wicker boat < Gk kárabos skiff, crayfish) + -ela dim. suffix
1520–30; < MF car(a)velle < Pg caravela, equiv. to cárav(o) kind of ship (< LL carabus a small wicker boat < Gk kárabos skiff, crayfish) + -ela dim. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To caravel
| car·a·vel or car·a·velle (kār'ə-věl') n. Nautical Any of several types of small, light sailing ships, especially one with two or three masts and lateen sails used by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th and 16th centuries. [French caravelle, from Old French, from Old Portuguese caravela, diminutive of cáravo, ship, from Late Latin cārabus, a small wicker boat, from Late Greek kārabos, light ship, from Greek, horned beetle.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Caravel
Car"a*vel\ (k[a^]r"[.a]*v[e^]l), n. [F. caravelle (cf. It. caravella, Sp. carabela), fr. Sp. caraba a kind of vessel, fr. L. carabus a kind of light boat, fr. Gr. ka`rabos a kind of light ship, NGr. kara`bi ship, vessel.] [written also carvel and caravelle.] (Naut.) A name given to several kinds of vessels. (a) The caravel of the 16th century was a small vessel with broad bows, high, narrow poop, four masts, and lateen sails. Columbus commanded three caravels on his great voyage. (b) A Portuguese vessel of 100 or 150 tons burden. (c) A small fishing boat used on the French coast. (d) A Turkish man-of-war.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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caravel
1527, from M.Fr. caravelle, from Port. caravela dim. of caravo "small vessel," from L.L. carabus "small wicker boat covered with leather," from Gk. karabos, lit. "beetle, lobster."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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caravel
a light sailing ship of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries in Europe, much-used by the Spanish and Portuguese for long voyages. Apparently developed by the Portuguese for exploring the coast of Africa, the caravel's chief excellence lay in its capacity for sailing to windward. It was also capable of remarkable speed. Two of the three ships in which Christopher Columbus made his historic voyage in 1492 were caravels, the Nina and the Pinta.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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