A Xebec (IPA: /ˈziːbɛk/ or /zɨˈbɛk/) is a Mediterranean sea sailing ship that was used for trading and other things. It has a long overhanging bow and stern. It also refers to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, used almost exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea.
Xebecs were similar to galleys used by Berber corsairs and Barbary pirates having both lateen sails and oars for propulsion. Early xebecs had two masts; later ones three. Xebecs featured a distinctive hull with pronounced overhanging bow and stern, and rarely displaced more than 200 tons, making them slightly smaller and with slightly fewer guns than frigates of the period.
