barque means A sailing vessel of three or more masts, with all masts but the sternmost square-rigged, the sternmost being fore-and-aft-rigged. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
barque is pronounced /bɑɹk/.
Why “barque” is a great word
BARQUE — [Noun] A sailing vessel with three or more masts, having the foremast and mainmast square-rigged and the mizzenmast fore-and-aft-rigged. From Middle English barke, from Middle French barque, from Italian barca, from Late Latin barca, from Vulgar Latin barica, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris, 'Egyptian boat'), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, 'small boat'), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjr ('transport ship'). First attested in English in the early 15th century. Unlike "ship," a broad term for any large seagoing vessel, or "sloop," a small, single-masted craft, the barque is a specific compromise of rigs, a hybrid built for economy of crew. It is the silhouette of a workhorse against a sunset, its square sails driving it forward while the aft sail trims to the wind's caprice; it is the sound of rigging humming a lower, lonelier note than a full-rigged ship’s chorus; it is the last graceful answer to an age of steam—a perfected instrument for a vanished world of wind and distance.
Etymology
From Middle English barke (“boat”), borrowed from Middle French barque, itself borrowed from Italian barca or a Medieval Latin equivalent, from Late Latin barca, from Vulgar Latin barica, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris) 'Egyptian boat', from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjr (“transport ship, type of fish”), b-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1. Doublet of bark, barge and baris. Possibly cognate with Spanish barco.
noun
- A sailing vessel of three or more masts, with all masts but the sternmost square-rigged, the sternmost being fore-and-aft-rigged“On being told, however, that the Norwegian barque Daphne was about to leave An-peng for Tamsui, I had my things taken on board, and we set sail a few hours later.”
- Any small sailing vessel.
- A sailing vessel or boat of any kind.“Barque of phosphor
On the palmy beach…”