bateau

[ba-toh, ba-toh]

noun

plural

bateaux 

1. Nautical.,  Also

   1. Chiefly Canadian and Southern U.S..,  a small, flat-bottomed rowboat used on rivers.

   2. a half-decked, sloop-rigged boat used for fishing on Chesapeake Bay; skipjack.

   3. (in some regions) a scow.

2. a pontoon of a floating bridge.

bateau

/ bato, bæˈtəʊ /

noun

1. a light flat-bottomed boat used on rivers in Canada and the northern US

Word History and Origins

Origin of bateau¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1705–15; from French; Old French batel, equivalent to bat (from Old English bāt boat ) + -el diminutive suffix, from Latin -ellus; -elle

Word History and Origins

Origin of bateau¹

C18: from French: boat, from Old French batel , from Old English bāt ; see _boat

Example Sentences

Ferreira doubled the lead in the 38th when goalkeeper Marvin Phillip palmed his initial shot and Ferreira put the rebound in off a leg of defender Sheldon Bateau.

From Seattle Times

Visitors can also explore several reconstructed buildings from that era, including a homestead house, and see a bateau riverboat.

From New York Times

But aside from that ill-fated bateau and the occasional river patrol raft or fishing boat, the only vessels we’ve seen on these quiet, unappreciated miles from Vicksburg down past the tiny, ironically named town of Waterproof, La., and continuing south to Natchez, were tugboat-powered barges — one every hour or two, all day and night.

From Los Angeles Times

According to locals, commerce is allowed on only one of the Cays, Petit Bateau, where Big Mama Beach B.B.Q. sells beers and snacks on the beach and an entrepreneur named Captain Neil sets out a daily lobster feast on picnic tables.

From New York Times

And yet, as it so often is in the country that claims Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, the relationship between France and its “terre bateau” is a little more complicated.

From New York Times

Related Words

• barge 
• canoe 
• catamaran 
• craft 
• dinghy 
• gondola 
• raft 
• sailboat 
• schooner 
• ship 
• yacht