bateau

[ ba-toh; French ba-toh ]

noun

, plural ba·teaux [ba-, tohz, b, a, -, toh].

1. Also . Nautical.
   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

This time his mother, his old Frances, had been dragged into the infamous joke of the "Bateau de fleurs."

From Project Gutenberg

Malgr les efforts du bateau de sauvetage et des lignes envoyes au moyen du fusil porte-amarre, quatre hommes et le mousse ont pri.

From Project Gutenberg

One day there came up the river a bateau from Tadoussac, bringing the news that the ice was all out of the St. Lawrence.

From Project Gutenberg

Much surprised, Mandy Ann knelt upright and 57 looked out over the edge of the bateau.

From Project Gutenberg

Meanwhile the bateau had swept down swiftly, and passed them at a distance of not more than a hundred yards.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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