caravel

American  

[kar-uh-vel] / ˈkær əˌvɛl /

noun

1. a small Spanish or Portuguese sailing vessel of the Middle Ages and later, usually lateen-rigged on two or three masts.

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caravel British  

/ ˈkærəˌvɛl /

noun

1. a two- or three-masted sailing ship, esp one with a broad beam, high poop deck, and lateen rig that was used by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th and 16th centuries

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Etymology

Origin of caravel

1520–30; < Middle French car ( a ) velle < Portuguese caravela, equivalent to cárav ( o ) kind of ship (< Late Latin carabus a small wicker boat < Greek kárabos skiff, crayfish) + -ela diminutive suffix

Explanation

A caravel was a European ship with triangular sails used from the 15th to 17th centuries. Two of Christopher Columbus's ships, Niña and the Pinta, were caravels. The caravel was popular with Portuguese and Spanish explorers because it was light and agile, with lateen sails designed for speed and able to head directly into the wind. Sailors could guide a small caravel along the shore, but this type of ship was also sturdy enough for the open sea. Caravel is from the Portuguese caravela, "small vessel," derived from a Latin word meaning "small wicker boat covered with leather" and the Greek karabos, "beetle."

Example Sentences

Rover became a public company in July 2021 after a merger with Nebula Caravel Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2023

The winner was Maanvi Sarwadi, a seventh-grader from Caravel Academy.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2018

Ferris hasn’t won any of its five games against junior varsity teams, though victory was hardly the primary objective, and still has two this week against Caravel on Thursday and Appoquinimink Friday.

From Washington Times • May 13, 2017

James Anderson’s first novel, “The Never-Open Desert Diner,” was published in February of last year by Caravel Books, after many larger houses rejected it.

From Washington Post • May 24, 2016

Caravel lost half its value in the crash of 2008, when investors around the world were liquidating just about anything in their portfolios that they could.

From BusinessWeek • Oct. 14, 2010