regatta English · revision 1645

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪˈɡætə/, /ɹɪˈɡɑtə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|vec|regatta|t=a contest for mastery]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''regattare'' “to compete; to haggle, sell at retail”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a word of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline) The AHD and Random House suggest Vulgar Latin ''*recaptāre'' “to contend”, from ''re-'' and ''captāre'' “to try to seize”.^(AHD)^(RHWU) Etymonline reports another theory, through Italian ''riga'' “row”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A boat race of gondoliers on the Grand Canal in Venice (1652).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general meaning of a boat or yacht race is usually said to begin with a race on the Thames called by that name on June 23, 1775,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) though Etymonline notes evidence for the word in English as early as 1768.^(Etymonline) It also came to mean an organized series of such races^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) and, from 1861, a striped twilled cotton fabric.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1652 – a gondola race in Venice.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1768 – English use (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1775 – a boat race on the Thames.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1861 – a cotton fabric.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A boat race, especially one of [[yacht|alt=yachts]] or rowing boats, or an organized series of such races.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A strong, striped cotton fabric of [[twill]] weave.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[catch]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}