pinnace
pinnace — noun
1. a small, fast sailing ship, typically with two or three masts, used in the 1500s
a small, fast sailing ship, typically with two or three masts, used in the 1500s–1700s for carrying messages, light cargo, or scouting ahead of a larger fleet.
The fleet sent a pinnace to check if the harbour was safe for large ships.
pinnace used for scouting ahead of a fleet
A single pinnace carried urgent dispatches from Plymouth to the governor in two days.
The museum's replica of a 17th-century pinnace shows how lightly the ship was built.
Traders loaded the pinnace with spices and textiles for the short voyage between the islands.
- sloop
a small sailing vessel with a single mast, generally smaller than a pinnace
- cutter
a small, fast sailing ship used for coastal patrol or cargo, similar in size to a pinnace but rigged differently
- shallop
a small, light sailing boat of the same era, often used interchangeably with pinnace in older texts
- galleon
a large, heavily armed sailing ship — opposite in size, cargo, and military role
- man-of-war
a large warship, vastly bigger than a pinnace
文法句型
a + pinnace
pinnace + of + [place/time]
用法筆記
This sense refers specifically to a type of sailing vessel from the Age of Sail, not to modern small boats. In historical writing, the term often distinguishes a pinnace from larger ships-of-the-line or galleons.
常見錯誤
2. a small boat carried on a larger ship, used mainly for moving people, supplies,
a small boat carried on a larger ship, used mainly for moving people, supplies, or messages between the ship and the shore.
The captain ordered the pinnace lowered to take fresh water aboard from the island.
pinnace used for ship-to-shore transport of supplies
Lan rowed the pinnace to the warship with the mail bags and a new officer.
Three sailors climbed down a rope ladder into the pinnace and rowed toward the beach.
During the storm the pinnace broke loose and drifted away from the anchored galleon.
- mother ship
the large vessel that carries and deploys the pinnace — opposite in scale and role
文法句型
a + pinnace
pinnace + from/of + [ship]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: in this sense the pinnace is a small boat carried by another vessel, not a sailing ship in its own right. This sense overlaps historically with 'longboat' and 'shallop', though a pinnace was often lighter and could be sailed or rowed.