language hat on 18 Mar 2005  •  Link

OED:

A sailing vessel; orig. one of small size used for coasting and fishing, described as flat-bottomed and having bulging sides; in the 17th and 18th c. applied to ships of considerable size, esp. war-ships... A common characteristic in later times appears to have been a narrow stern.

Bill on 10 Jan 2015  •  Link

PINK, a sort of little sailing Ship
---An Universal Etymological English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1675.

San Diego Sarah on 27 Jun 2017  •  Link

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin…
"A pink (French - pinque) is one of two different types of Sailing ship. The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern; the name derived from the Italian word pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean Sea as a cargo ship.

"In the Atlantic Ocean the word pink was used to describe any small ship with a narrow stern, having derived from the Dutch word pincke. They had a large cargo capacity, and were generally square rigged. Their flat bottoms (and resulting shallow draught) made them more useful in shallow waters than some similar classes of ship. They were most often used for short-range missions in protected channels, as both merchant-men and warships. A number saw service in the English Navy during the second half of the 17th Century. This model of ship was often used in the Mediterranean because it could be sailed in shallow waters and through coral reefs."