balancelle

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French balancelle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bælənˈsɛl/

Noun

balancelle (plural balancelles)

1. A garden seat in the form of a swing.
2. (uncommon) A small boat, typically with a single lateen sail, used in the Mediterranean.
   • 2007, Zdzisław Najder, Joseph Conrad: A Life, Camden House, →ISBN, page 60:

     ... sailing boat Tremolino, owned partly by Korzeniowski himself. He described her alternately as a balancelle, tartane, or felucca, but furnished her with two masts; boats of these types are single-masted.

   • 2015 September 16, Rif Winfield, Stephen S Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786–1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, Casemate Publishers, →ISBN, page 1599:

     ... (balancelle, felucca, or aviso in service at Elba in 1806 and commissioned on 1.1.1807, 26-53 men, carried 1 x 10pdr, 2 x 3pdr, 2 swivels). Put at the disposition of Napoleon at Elba  […]

References

• Arthur Young (1863) Nautical Dictionary: Defining the Technical Language Relative to the Building and Equipment of Sailing Vessels and Steamers, Seamanship, Navigation, Nautical Astronomy, Naval Gunnery, Maritime Law and Commerce, General and Particular Average and Marine Insurance, and Other Terms Relating to Maritime Affairs : with an Appendix, ... French Terms, page 25: “BALANCELLE. The French name for a boat used in the Mediterranean, especially at Naples. It is generally sharp at both ends, somewhat like a French fishing boat. It is rigged with a lateen sail, and navigated also with oars […]”

French

Etymology

From Ligurian (Genoese) balancella.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.lɑ̃.sɛl/

• Audio:

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Noun

balancelle f (plural balancelles)

1. porch swing, swing seat, balancelle

Further reading

• “balancelle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.