"small two-masted ship," 1520s, from Middle French brigandin (15c.), from Italian brigantino, perhaps "skirmishing vessel, pirate ship," from brigante "skirmisher, pirate, brigand" from brigare "fight" (see brigade).
two-masted sailing ship with square rigging on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigging on the mainmast. The term originated with the two-masted ships, also powered by oars, on which pirates, or sea brigands, terrorized the Mediterranean in the 16th century. In northern European waters the brigantine became purely a sailing ship. Its gaff-rigged mainsail distinguished it from the completely square-rigged brig, though the two terms came to be used interchangeably. For example, brigantines with square topsails above the gaffed mainsail were called true brigantines, whereas those with no square sails at all on the mainmast were called hermaphrodite brigs or brig-schooners.