schooner

Forms

schooner m (plural schooners)^[1] First written scooner (1751), then schooner (1788).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English schooner, an Anglo-American word first spelled skooner (1716), with ⟨sch⟩ from 1721.^[2][4][5] The origin of the English word is uncertain: an anecdote first reported in 1790 says it was coined in 1713, at Gloucester, from the northern English dialect verb scoon “to skim the surface of the water”, an explanation that rests only on that story.^[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg accept this derivation.^[6] Etymonline compares a Scottish verb meaning “to skip stones over water”.^[7]

The ⟨sch⟩ spelling may follow words in ⟨sch-⟩ taken from Dutch,^[4] but Dutch schoener and German Schoner are themselves loans from English, as is the French word.^[4][5][7] The GLLF calls it a Dutch word,^[8] and Littré derived it from German.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as scooner in 1751, in a French translation of Leslie's history of Jamaica, naming a small sailing ship.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word kept its single sense of a small fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts, used for fishing and trade, especially in America.^[2][4] It is now out of use, replaced by goélette, which dictionaries give as its French equivalent.^[4][3][10]

Timeline

• 1716 – English skooner is recorded in America.^[2]
• 1751 – Scooner appears in French in a translation.^[2][4]
• 1788 – The spelling schooner is found in French.^[2]
• 1801 – Bloch and Wartburg's date of first record.^[6][8]
• 1811 – Chateaubriand uses schooner.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (nautical, dated) A schooner, a small two-masted ship rigged like a goélette, once used for fishing and trade.^[3][8][2]

Related words

• goélette
• English schooner

Usage notes

It is pronounced [skunœʀ] or [ʃunœʀ];^[3] Littré gave both skou-nèr and chou-nèr.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)