schooner

English

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schooner

Wikipedia

Etymology

Attested ca. 1715, of uncertain origin. Said to be derived from dialectal scoon (“to skim over water”). Compare also shunt (“to cause to move (suddenly)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skuːnə(ɹ)/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːnə(ɹ)

Noun

schooner (plural schooners)

1. (nautical) A sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a mainmast.

   Synonym: goelette

   • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict‎:

     The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land.

   • 2004, Reese Palley, The Best of Nautical Quarterly: Volume 1: The Lure of Sail‎, page 181:

     Designed by Frank Payne's renowned Boston design office, and built in 1928 of longleaf yellow pine, this 82-footer has been a racing schooner — a staysail schooner — since the heyday of Class-A ocean racing in schooners during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

   • 2005, Otmar Schäuffelen, Chapman: Great Sailing Ships of the World‎, page xxi:

     In addition to the square-rigged sailing ships, the schooners were the second largest group of large sailing vessels.

   • 2007, Donald Launer, Lessons from My Good Old Boat‎, page 240:

     Unfortunately, anyone looking for a schooner today has limited choices. In the used boat market there are always some wooden hulls available, and occasionally ones of steel or aluminum, but fiberglass-hulled schooners are harder to come by.

2. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (UK) A glass for drinking a large measure of sherry.
3. (Australia) A glass of beer, of a size which varies between states (Wikipedia).
   • a. 1964, Arthur Upfield, “Fozen Pumps”, in Kees de Hoog, editor, Up and Down Australia: Short Stories Selected by Kees de Hoog‎, published 2008, page 67:

     Foaming schooners of beer grew ever larger and more numerous as the crimson February suns went to their rest.

   • 2004, Ken Ewell, Voyages of Discovery: A Manly Adventure in the Lands Down Under‎, page 94:

     And needless to say, the Western Australia row will eventually be filled in as well, though not before drinking a schooner of the amber nectar in Perth.

   • 2009, Charles Rawlings-Way, Meg Worby, Lindsay Brown, Paul Harding, Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin‎, Lonely Planet, page 59:

     For a true Adelaide experience, head for the bar and order a schooner of Coopers, the local brew, or a glass of SA′s impressive wine.

4. (US) A large goblet or drinking glass, used for lager or ale (Wikipedia).
5. (historical) A covered wagon used by emigrants.

Usage notes

• (sailing ship): Variants exist, such as with additional square sails on the fore topmast. Compare ketch and yawl which have a main and a mizzen mast.
• (size of glass): A schooner is one of the larger measures, except in South Australia, where it is smaller. See Beer in Australia: Beer glasses for details.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• coehorns

French

Noun

schooner m (plural schooners)

1. schooner (boat)

Further reading

• “schooner”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.