A ship intentionally set on fire and sent toward enemy vessels to cause destruction; a burning ship used as a weapon.
From French 'brûlot,' derived from 'brûler' (to burn). Originally a naval warfare term, particularly used in 18th-century naval battles. The word combines French 'brûle' (burning) + '-ot' (diminutive suffix), literally 'little burning ship.'
During the American Revolutionary War, the British attempted to use brulots against Washington's fleet in the East River—the colonists spotted them in time and cut them loose, but the tactic remained one of the most feared weapons in naval history until steam ships made them obsolete.
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