шайка

/[ˈʃa̟jkɐ]/

Bulgariannoun

Definitions

1.
a kind of small boat of up to twelve cannons heavily used in the Black Sea, Tisa, Danube and Sava
2.
gang of rogues, band of bandits

Etymology

Variant of ча́йка (čájka, “seagull”), as ships are frequently likened to birds. A form with /tʃ/ meaning a boat is also present in Ukrainian ча́йка (čájka), probably originally meaning somewhat original vessels but then compared to the Turco-Bulgaric type.