dhow

American  

[dou] / daʊ /

Or dau,

noun

1. any of various types of sailing vessels used by Arabs on the east African, Arabian, and Indian coasts, generally lateen-rigged on two or three masts.

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dhow British  

/ daʊ /

noun

1. a lateen-rigged coastal Arab sailing vessel with one or two masts

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Etymology

Origin of dhow

First recorded in 1795–1805, dhow is from the Arabic word dāwa

Explanation

A dhow is a sailing vessel used to transport heavy merchandise in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. A dhow has a long, narrow hull and is propelled only by its sail. Historians aren't sure who invented the dhow — Indians or Arabs — but they do know the first ones appeared before 600 C.E. Today the term generally refers to all sailing ships in that region with one or two masts and triangular or quadrilateral-shaped sails. Dhows are commonly used to transport commercial goods like timber, fish, and dates between East Africa and the Persian Gulf.

Example Sentences

An annual film-and-music festival that attracts a couple of thousand visitors every July is called the Festival of the Dhow Countries, in a nod to the shared trade and cultural links across the Indian Ocean.

From Time Magazine Archive

One was evidently a native craft, a Dhow or Pattarmar, from her high stern, curiously-projecting bow, and lofty lateen sail.

From Ronald Morton, or the Fire Ships A Story of the Last Naval War by Hoggans, T.

Dhow used for Transport of Dr. Livingstone's Camels. 25th March, 1866.—I hired a house for four dollars a month and landed all our goods from the dhow.

From The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868 by Waller, Horace

Dhow, dow, n. a native vessel on the eastern African and western Indian coasts, with lateen sails: an Arab slaver.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various