A small fast-sailing boat used historically in the Mediterranean, similar to a caique but sometimes with specific design features for warfare or commerce.
Possibly from Arabic 'qurb' or a variation of caique, entering European languages through Mediterranean maritime contact. The exact etymology is debated among nautical historians.
Medieval pirates and merchant sailors had dozens of specialized boat names—'cairba' appears in old maritime records but its exact design features are now lost to history, leaving researchers like nautical archaeologists to guess!
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