# ship

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɪp/ · frequency rank #1,254

## Definitions
1. A water-borne vessel generally larger than a boat.
2. A vessel which travels through any medium other than across land, such as an airship or spaceship.
3. A spaceship.
4. A particular still life consisting of an empty cell surrounded by six live cells.
5. A sailing vessel with three or more square-rigged masts.
6. A dish or utensil (originally fashioned like the hull of a ship) used to hold incense.
7. The third card of the Lenormand deck.
8. An aircraft.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sek-?
Proto-Indo-European *-éyti
Proto-Indo-European *skey-der.?
Proto-Germanic *skipą
Proto-West Germanic *skip
Old English scip
Middle English schip
English ship
From Middle English ship, schip, from Old English sċip, from Proto-West Germanic *skip, from Proto-Germanic *skipą, from Proto-Indo-European *skēyb-, *skib-. More at shift.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian skip, Dutch schip, German Schiff, Yiddish שיף (shif), Danish skib, Norwegian skip, Swedish skepp. Related also to Lithuanian skiẽbti (“to rip up”), Latvian škibît (“to cut, lop”).
Compare typologically boat, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd-.

## Easily confused with
- **SI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-si)
- **SP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sp)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-six)
- **sir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sir)
- **sit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sit)
- **sin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sin)
- **shy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-shy)
- **ski** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-ski)
- **SIM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sim)
- **sip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sip)
- **sis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sis)
- **sic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sic)
- **SNP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-snp)
- **Sid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sid)
- **sup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sup)
- **sig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sig)
- **sho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sho)
- **sia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sia)
- **STI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sti)
- **sie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ship-vs-sie)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hsip`, `shhip`, `shipp`, `shpi`, `sihp`, `sship`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ship