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Caravel

4 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means a small, fast Spanish or Portuguese sailing ship of the 1400s-1600s

Where does the word "caravel" come from? It comes from Greek kárabos, passing through Late Latin and Portuguese before entering English (1520s).

kárabos→carabus→caravela→caravel

Greek · classical

"stag beetle, crayfish"

named horned beetles and crayfish; Aristotle's History of Animals uses it for the spiny lobster

Late Latin · c. 630

Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae defines carabus as a small boat of wicker covered in raw hide

Portuguese · 1400s

"light sailing ship"

Portugal's light, lateen-rigged ship of discovery; Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 with two caravels

English · 1520s

"small fast sailing ship"

came via French caravelle; two of Columbus's three ships in 1492, the Niña and the Pinta, were caravels

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Read the full story

Caravel’s story begins in Greek: kárabos meant “stag beetle, crayfish.” Named horned beetles and crayfish; Aristotle's History of Animals uses it for the spiny lobster. By c. 630, the word had taken hold in Late Latin as carabus. Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae defines carabus as a small boat of wicker covered in raw hide. From there it passed into Portuguese as caravela by 1400s. Portugal's light, lateen-rigged ship of discovery; Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 with two caravels. It reached English by 1520s as caravel. Came via French caravelle; two of Columbus's three ships in 1492, the Niña and the Pinta, were caravels. Today, caravel means a small, fast Spanish or Portuguese sailing ship of the 1400s-1600s.