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xebec - 4 dictionary results
xe⋅bec
[zee-bek] 
bɛk
–noun
| a small, three-masted vessel of the Mediterranean, formerly much used by corsairs, now employed to some extent in commerce. |
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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 xebec
| xe·bec also ze·bec or ze·beck (zē'běk') n. A small three-masted Mediterranean vessel with both square and lateen sails. [French chebec, probably from Catalan xabec, from Arabic šabbāk, from šabaka, to entwine, fasten; see śbk in Semitic roots.] |
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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Xebec
Xe"bec\ (z[=e]"b[e^]k), n. [Sp. jabegue, formerly spelt xabeque, or Pg. xabeco; both from Turk. sumbeki a kind of Asiatic ship; cf. Per. sumbuk, Ar. sumb[=u]k a small ship.] (Naut.) A small three-masted vessel, with projecting bow stern and convex decks, used in the Mediterranean for transporting merchandise, etc. It carries large square sails, or both. Xebecs were formerly armed and used by corsairs.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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xebec
"small three-masted vessel," 1756, from Fr. chébec, from It. sciabecco, ult. from Ar. shabbak "a small warship." Altered by infl. of cognate Sp. xabeque, which shows the old way of representing the Sp. sound now spelled -j-.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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