coble

American  

[koh-buhl] / ˈkoʊ bəl /

noun

1. a flat-bottomed fishing boat with a lugsail, used mainly in northern England and Scotland for salmon.

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coble British  

/ ˈkəʊbəl, ˈkɒbəl /

noun

1. a small single-masted flat-bottomed fishing boat

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Etymology

Origin of coble

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English cobel; probably of Celtic origin (compare Welsh ceubal, ceubol “skiff, ferryboat”), ultimately from Late Latin caupulus, caupilus “small sailing vessel with a high prow”

Example Sentences

The Island of Earraid is a small, unimportant island off the coast of Scotland. 381-2 A coble is a small boat used in fishing.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 6 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

"Life's a weary, weary, weary, Life's a weary coble o' care."

From Agatha's Husband A Novel by Crane, Walter

"Gae tell my father and my mother, It was naebody did me this ill; I was a-going my ain errands,35 Lost at the coble o' bonnie Cargill."

From English and Scottish Ballads (volume 3 of 8) by Various

Mrs. Darling went back to her work in the lighthouse, but Grace remained on the beach until the coble that bore her friend away had passed completely out of sight.

From Grace Darling Heroine of the Farne Islands by Hope, Eva

There the captors of Miss Macrae must have touched, burned their coble, and taken to some larger and fleeter vessel. 

From The Disentanglers by Lang, Andrew