carrack

or car·ack

[ kar-uhk ]

noun

1. a merchant vessel having various rigs, used especially by Mediterranean countries in the 15th and 16th centuries; galleon.

carrack

/ ˈkærək /

noun

1. a galleon sailed in the Mediterranean as a merchantman in the 15th and 16th centuries

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrack¹

1350–1400; Middle English carrake < Middle French carraque < Spanish carraca, perhaps back formation from Arabic qarāqīr (plural of qurqūr ship of burden < Greek kérkouros ), the -īr being taken as plural ending

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrack¹

C14: from Old French caraque, from Old Spanish carraca, from Arabic qarāqīr merchant ships

Example Sentences

When they disembarked from the leaky, fetid carrack, they stepped foot on a land already cleared by death’s scythe.

From Washington Times

Downstream, conunoners and highborn captains alike could see the hot green death swirling toward their rafts and carracks and ferries, borne on the current of the Blackwater.

From Literature

According to the English account there were more than 1,100 on board the carrack, when she left Loanda, of whom only fifteen were saved!

From Project Gutenberg

Procrastination was perilous, and therefore, with all expedition, they thought convenient to charge the town, the fort, the galleys, and carrack, all at one instant.”

From Project Gutenberg

Known as kraak — apparently after the Portuguese ships, or carracks, that transported it — the porcelain became extremely popular.

From New York Times