English

a Hermaphrodite-brig

Noun

hermaphrodite brig ‎(plural hermaphrodite brigs)

1. (nautical) a two-masted sailing ship which has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast (triangular topsail over a gaff mainsail). As such it has a mix of the two main types of sail plan, hence the term hermaphrodite.
   • 1846, Frederick Marryat, “The Privateersman”:

     About noon we saw a vessel on a wind to leeward of us, which was a source of great delight to us all, and we bore down to her. We soon made her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, under her close-reefed topsails and trysails.

Synonyms

• (two-masted sailing ship): brig-schooner, schooner-brig; (controversial brigantine)