xebec

[ zee-bek ]

/ ˈzi bɛk /

noun

a small, three-masted vessel of the Mediterranean, formerly much used by corsairs, now employed to some extent in commerce.

Nearby words

xc, xcl, xd, xda, xe, xebec, xenakis, xenia, xenic acid, xenical, xeno-

Also chebeck, zebec, zebeck.

Origin of xebec

1750–60; alteration of earlier chebec < French < Catalan xabec or Spanish xabeque (now jabeque), both < Arabic shabbāk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for xebec

That big fellow has got twelve on a side, the polacre has eight, and the xebec six, so between them they have fifty-two guns.
Held Fast For England|G. A. Henty
Equivalent to our hermaphrodite, being a small Mediterranean vessel, between a xebec and a felucca.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
Every time one of her boats rowed past the xebec it would be challenged and ugly things said.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes|Various
The small cannon of the xebec had been dismounted, but they hastily tied them with ropes.
The Dead Command|Vicente Blasco Ibez

The first broadside from the ship's cannons kills five men on the deck of the xebec, among them the father of Riquer.
The Dead Command|Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for xebec

xebec

zebec or zebeck

/ (ˈziːbɛk) /

noun

a small three-masted Mediterranean vessel with both square and lateen sails, formerly used by Algerian pirates and later used for commerce

Word Origin for xebec

C18: earlier chebec from French, ultimately from Arabic shabbāk; present spelling influenced by Catalan xabec, Spanish xabeque (now jabeque)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for xebec

xebec

"small three-masted vessel," by 1745, from French chébec, from Italian sciabecco, ultimately from Arabic shabbak "a small warship." Altered by influence of cognate Spanish xabeque, which shows the old way of representing the Spanish sound now spelled -j-.