brig, two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on both masts. Brigs have been used as cargo ships and also, in the past, as small warships carrying about 10 guns. They vary in length between 75 and 130 ft (23-40 m), with tonnages up to 350. A brigantine is a somewhat smaller two-masted vessel, square-rigged on the foremast but with a fore-and-aft mainsail. In earlier times it carried a square topsail on the mainmast. A hermaphrodite brig is identical with the brigantine except that it carries no topsail on its mainmast; most U.S. brigs since 1860 have actually been of this type.

Brig, Fr. Brigue, town, Valais canton, S Switzerland, on the Rhône River, at the north entrance of the Simplon Tunnel. Although it has a noted 17th-century palace, Brig is primarily known as the junction of the Simplon, Lötschberg, and Furka rail lines. The primary economic activity of the town is tourism.

Two-masted sailing ship with square rigging on both masts. Brigs were both naval and mercantile vessels. As merchantmen, they often followed coastal trading routes, but ocean voyages were not uncommon, and some were even used for whaling and sealing. Naval brigs carried 10–20 guns on a single deck. In the 18th–19th century, they served as couriers for battle fleets and as training vessels for cadets. Brigs of the early U.S. Navy won distinction on the Great Lakes in the War of 1812. Because square rigging required a large crew, merchant brigs became uneconomical, and in the 19th century they began to give way to vessels such as the schooner and the bark.

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