 From the French "caïque", from the Italian "caicco", from the Turkish "kayık" (the source of the word loaned into the Greek "kaiki" and ultimately the English word as well), from the Ottoman Turkish "qayïq or qayïk"), related to the Persian "qayeq" but ultimately from the Old Turkic "qayghug" and "qayghuq".It bears no connection to kayak.The similarly-named Maltese "kajjik" is derived from the caïque.