Plural of barkentine; three-masted sailing ships with a square-rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged masts at the stern.
From Dutch 'barkentijn,' possibly derived from 'bark' (a ship type) combined with a diminutive suffix. The word evolved in maritime contexts during the 17th-18th centuries to describe a specific hybrid sailing vessel design.
Barkentines were the economic workhorses of the sailing era—cheaper to operate than full square-riggers because they needed fewer crew for the aft sails, yet fast enough for long-distance trade. You'll find them romanticized in sea shanties but rarely in history books, making them the unsung heroes of global commerce.
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