cabotage

American  

[kab-uh-tij, kab-uh-tahzh] / ˈkæb ə tɪdʒ, ˌkæb əˈtɑʒ /

noun

1. navigation or trade along the coast.

2. Aviation. the legal restriction to domestic carriers of air transport between points within a country's borders.

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cabotage British  

/ ˈkæbəˌtɑːʒ /

noun

1. nautical coastal navigation or shipping, esp within the borders of one country

2. reservation to a country's carriers of its internal traffic, esp air traffic

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Etymology

Origin of cabotage

1825–35; < French, derivative of caboter to sail coastwise, verbal derivative of Middle French cabo < Spanish cabo headland, cape ²; see -age

Example Sentences

“The Uluburun ship represented long-distance interregional elite exchange, and the Cape Gelidonya ship was involved in local coastal cabotage, or opportunistic trade, where goods and services were purchased and sold at ports for quick profit.”

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024

One such proposal would allow "cabotage," a rare practice allowing foreign carriers to open domestic routes in the country.

From Reuters • Feb. 22, 2023

We don’t want cabotage to sabotage our industry.

From The Guardian • Oct. 15, 2021

Currently, the biggest problem for Ross is cabotage rules, which say trucks are only allowed three stops within the EU in seven days, before having to return to the UK.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2021

Small vessels belonging to foreigners, and employed in cabotage, must not sail with their own papers, and even a change of name is effected under difficulties.

From Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir