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steamship

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Etymology and origin of the English word steamship

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1790
Ultimate origin
Old English steam,scip
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English steam
English steamship
From the same root
English steamer ← steam
English steamy ← steam

Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈstimˌʃɪp/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English steam + ship.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ship propelled by steam: Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1790,[5][6] and Dictionary.com to 1780–90.[4] The OED's first quotation, and Etymonline's date, is from a letter of P. B. Shelley of 7 December 1819.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1790 – a ship driven by steam power.[5][6] The OED's first quotation is from 1819.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A ship driven by one or more steam engines turning screws, propellers or paddles; a steamer: They crossed the Atlantic on a steamship in 1910.[7][8][5][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Steamship.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/steamship. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·