Meaning & use
drakkar
Last updated
UK/ˈdrækɑː/
US/ˈdrækɑːr/
Meaning
nouncountablerare
A large Viking warship with oars and a single sail, used for raids and trade in the Middle Ages.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a drakkar' or 'two drakkars'.
Patterns
- a drakkar ship
- sail a drakkar
The museum has a full-size replica of a drakkar.
Viking warriors crossed the sea in a drakkar.
The drakkar had a shallow draft, so it could go up rivers.
Word forms
| plural | drakkars |
|---|
Common combinations
- Viking drakkar
- The Viking drakkar was both a warship and a cargo vessel.
- build a drakkar
- It took months to build a drakkar using traditional methods.
- drakkar ship
- The drakkar ship is famous for its carved prow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- longship
- Longship is the more general term for this type of Viking vessel; drakkar is a specific kind often used in historical writing.
- Viking ship
- This is the everyday term; drakkar is more technical and less common.
Commonly confused: drakkar or dragon?
drakkar vs dragon
Drakkar sounds a little like dragon, but a drakkar is a ship, not a mythical creature.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'drakkar' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A drakkar is a Viking ship, so it is sailed. The other options confuse it with a dragon, a dress, or a fish.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drakkar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.