carrack

noun

car·​rack ˈker-ək How to pronounce carrack (audio)
ˈker-ik,
ˈka-rək,
ˈka-rik
: a beamy sailing ship especially of the 15th and 16th centuries

Examples of carrack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web On September 6, 1522, a Spanish carrack named Nao Victoria arrived in the coastal waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 6 Sep. 2022 The multi-mast carrack derives from the single-mast cog that dominated European seafaring in the Middle Ages. Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 6 Sep. 2022 Wearing a magnifying visor, at a table with glues and tweezers and exact bits of wood, the boy puts together long ships and carracks in exquisite minute scale. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2018 There’s a cruise on the Esperanza, a three-masted Spanish carrack. Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carrack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English carrake, from Anglo-French carrak, from Old Spanish carraca, from Arabic qarāqīr, plural of qurqūr merchant ship, from Greek kerkouros light vessel

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of carrack was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near carrack

Cite this Entry

“Carrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carrack. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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