What is "schooner"

Schooner \Schoon"er\, n. [D.] A large goblet or drinking glass, -- used for lager beer or ale. [U.S.]

Schooner \Schoon"er\, n. [See the Note below. Cf. Shun.] (Naut.) Originally, a small, sharp-built vessel, with two masts and fore-and-aft rig. Sometimes it carried square topsails on one or both masts and was called a topsail schooner. About 1840, longer vessels with three masts, fore-and-aft rigged, came into use, and since that time vessels with four masts and even with six masts, so rigged, are built. Schooners with more than two masts are designated three-masted schooners, four-masted schooners, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.

Note: The first schooner ever constructed is said to have been built in Gloucester, Massachusetts, about the year 1713, by a Captain Andrew Robinson, and to have received its name from the following trivial circumstance: When the vessel went off the stocks into the water, a bystander cried out,``O, how she scoons!'' Robinson replied, `` A scooner let her be;'' and, from that time, vessels thus masted and rigged have gone by this name. The word scoon is popularly used in some parts of New England to denote the act of making stones skip along the surface of water. The Scottish scon means the same thing. Both words are probably allied to the Icel. skunda, skynda, to make haste, hurry, AS. scunian to avoid, shun, Prov. E. scun. In the New England records, the word appears to have been originally written scooner. Babson, in his ``History of Gloucester,'' gives the following extract from a letter written in that place Sept. 25, 1721, by Dr. Moses Prince, brother of the Rev. Thomas Prince, the annalist of New England: ``This gentleman (Captain Robinson) was first contriver of schooners, and built the first of that sort about eight years since.''

fore-and-aft rigged vessel, originally with only two masts, 1716, perhaps from a New England verb related to Scottish scon "to send over water, to skip stones." Skeat relates this dialectal verb to shunt. Spelling probably influenced by Dutch, but Dutch schoener is a loan-word from English, as are German Schoner, French schooner, Swedish skonert. Said to have originated in Gloucester, Mass., shipyard.The rig characteristic of a schooner has been defined as consisting essentially of two gaff sails, the after sail not being smaller than the fore, and a head sail set on a bowsprit. [OED]Meaning "tall beer glass" is from 1879, of unknown origin or connection.

n. (context nautical English) A sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a mainmast.

1. n. a large beer glass

2. sailing vessel used in former times

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel with fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts, the foremast being shorter than the main and no taller than the mizzen if there is one. Originally gaff-rigged, modern schooners typically carry a Bermuda rig.

Such vessels were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century (the name derives from the Dutch Schoener). They were further developed in North America from the early 18th century, and came into extensive use in New England. The most common type, with two masts, were popular in trades requiring speed and windward ability, such as slaving, privateering, blockade running, and offshore fishing. In the Chesapeake Bay area several distinctive schooner types evolved, including the Baltimore clipper, bugeye, and pungy. Schooners were also popular among pirates in the West Indies during The Golden Age of Piracy, for their speed and agility. They could also sail in shallow waters, and while being considerably smaller than other ships of the time period (such as frigates and galleons), they could still hold enough cannons to intimidate merchant vessels into submission.

Schooners were popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, long dominating yacht races such as the America's Cup, but gradually gave way in Europe to the cutter.

Schooner may refer to:

• Schooner, a type of sailing vessel
• Schooner, a standard Australian beer glass size, set at 425 mL (15 fl oz) in most of the country.
• Schooner (glass)
• Prairie schooner (disambiguation)
• Schooner Lager, a Canadian lager beer
• Schooner Channel, formerly Schooner Passage, a strait on the Central Coast of British Columbia
• Schooner Creek, a stream in Indiana
• False Schooner Passage is a former name of Allison Harbour, British Columbia
• Schooner Hotel, a 17th-century coaching inn in the coastal village of Alnmouth, Northumberland, England

In South Australian pubs and clubs, the term "schooner" refers to a glass with a volume of 285 mL (known as a "pot" elsewhere in Australia, and a "middy" in New South Wales and Western Australia 10 imp. fl. oz., or half an imperial pint, pre- metrication). In other Australian states "schooner" refers to a glass of 425 mL (15 imp. fl. oz., or three-quarters of an imperial pint, pre-metrication). It is the most common size in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory, although not unknown in other states. Currently, some hospitality venues in Western Australia are going through a process of "schoonerification", whereby the previous culture of drinking by pints has been changed with vessels of schooner size to allay increasing costs to venues and with encouragement from the state government to curb binge drinking.

In Canada, a "schooner" refers to a large-volume beer glass. Unlike the Australian schooner, which is smaller than a pint, a Canadian schooner is always larger. Although not standardized, the most common size of schooner served in Canadian bars is 32 oz. (946 mL); the volume of two US pints. It is usually a tankard (mug) shaped glass, rather than a pint shaped glass. It shouldn't be confused with Schooner Lager, which is a regional brand of beer found only in the eastern maritime provinces of Canada.

In Britain, a schooner is a large sherry glass. Sherry is traditionally served in one of two measures, based on how they were served in naval days. There was a clipper, the smaller measure, or a schooner, the larger measure, named after the sort of ships that brought sherry over from Spain. The schooner name was more particular to Bristol, to where most sherry was imported, stored and bottled. It is usually served on its own. Also since 2011 beer and cider is permitted to be sold in 2/3 pint (379ml) glasses known as 'schooners'.

Newcastle Brown Ale is traditionally served in a half-pint glass called a schooner, or 'Geordie schooner'.

In the United States, "schooner" refers to the shape of the glass (rounded with a short stem), rather than the capacity. It can range from 18 oz. (532 mL) to 32 oz. (946 mL).