boat English · revision 3883

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *baitaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /bəʊt/, US /boʊt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bote]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|bāt]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*baitaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) preserved also in Old Norse beit.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Middle Low German bōt (German Boot) and Dutch boot were borrowed from it.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is possibly from [[ine-pro|*bheid-|t=to split]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from making a boat by hollowing out a tree trunk or from split planks, or an extension of the name of some part of a ship.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) French bateau is from Old English or Norse.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[bite]] and [[boatswain]].^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small open vessel: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and 891 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The surname Botere “boatman” is from 1168.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was extended to vessels smaller than or different from a ship from 1571.^(OED 1989) ''In the same boat'', facing the same difficulties, is from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and ''to rock the boat'' from 1914.^(Etymonline) A serving dish shaped like a boat is from the 1680s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as in ''gravy boat''.^(AHD) The verb, to carry in a boat, is from 1613,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and to go in a boat from 1673.^(OED 1989) ''Boat people'', refugees fleeing by sea, is from 1977,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''boat race'' is rhyming slang for “face” from 1958.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1168 – the surname Botere.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – ''in the same boat''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1613 – verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1680s – a serving dish.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1914 – ''to rock the boat''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1977 – ''boat people''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small open vessel moved by oars, sails or an engine.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Any vessel, including a [[ship]] or [[submarine]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A dish shaped like a boat: ''a gravy boat''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To travel by boat, or go boating for pleasure.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To carry in a boat.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[boatful]]

+ * [[boatlike]]

+ * [[boatable]]

+ * [[boatless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[boatswain]]

+ * [[bite]]

+ * [[bateau]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and some English dialects a ''boat'' was a segment of an apple or orange, from its shape.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}