the.com/pinnace
the small boat that does the big ship's dirty work, then waits patiently astern
means A pinnace is a small, light boat — often carried by or attached to a larger ship — used for ferrying people, supplies, and errands between ship and shore.
from From French 'pinasse', which likely traces back to a word for the pine tree (Latin 'pinus') — the timber such boats were once built from. So the name quietly remembers the wood: a little vessel named for the forest it came out of.
- origin
- Name traces to Latin pinus, the pine it was built from
- two lives
- Once a small warship, later just a ship's tender
- powered up
- Steam pinnaces armed with guns served Victorian navies
- the spelling
- Often confused with palace, share zero in common
for instance
hms beagle's pinnace — small boat used by darwin during his 1831-1836 voyage to the galápagos
venetian pinnace — traditional narrow galley-type boat used in venice's lagoon and mediterranean trade