pinnace

[pin-is]

noun

1. a light sailing ship, especially one formerly used in attendance on a larger ship.

2. any of various kinds of ship's boats.

3. a small 17th-century ship having two or three masts and a flat stern, used in northern Europe as a warship and merchant ship and as a tender.

pinnace

/ ˈpɪnɪs /

noun

1. any of various kinds of ship's tender

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinnace¹

1540–50; < Middle French pinace < Old Spanish pinaza literally, something made of pino pine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinnace¹

C16: from French pinace, apparently from Old Spanish pinaza, literally: something made of pine, ultimately from Latin pīnus pine

Example Sentences

He says the largest one is the Susan Constant, next in size is the Godspeed, and the smallest, a pinnace, is the Discovery.

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“He’s got a fast little pinnace hidden on the riverbank. He told me to say goodbye to you if he had to hurry away.”

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In one major shipment, 15 pinnaces carrying manuscripts left Timbuktu together.

Read more on The Guardian

Tired, hot, and hungry they reached the spot where a naval pinnace was supposed to be awaiting them.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

A steam pinnace landed him and his scanty belongings on the Gateshead side of the river.

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Related Words

• barge 
• canoe 
• catamaran 
• craft 
• dinghy 
• gondola 
• raft 
• sailboat 
• schooner 
• ship 
• yacht