regatta
[ri-gat-uh, -gah-tuh]
- a boat race, as of rowboats, yachts, or other vessels.
- an organized series of such races.
- (originally) a gondola race in Venice.
- a strong, striped cotton fabric that is of twill weave.
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Origin of regatta
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for regatta
Historical Examples
It is a fine night for a regatta, and I will stand you a pound on Mr. Handlead's heels.
Homeward BoundJames Fenimore Cooper
And yet you got two hundred and thirty for a regatta in June last!
One Of ThemCharles James Lever
I asked him why he never entered the Halcyone for the Galway regatta.
My New CurateP.A. Sheehan
The Shepards were a family we first met at a regatta in Portland Harbor.
Up the RiverOliver Optic
It is a regatta, a free-for-all, devil-take-the-hindmost affair.
East of SuezFrederic Courtland Penfield
regatta
- an organized series of races of yachts, rowing boats, etc
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Word Origin
C17: from obsolete Italian (Venetian dialect) rigatta contest, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for regatta
n.
1650s, name of a boat race among gondoliers held on the Grand Canal in Venice, from Italian (Venetian dialect) regatta, literally "contention for mastery," from rigattare "to compete, haggle, sell at retail." [Klein's sources, however, suggest a source in Italian riga "row, rank," from a Germanic source and related to English row (v.).] The general meaning of "boat race, yacht race" is usually considered to have begun with a race on the Thames by that name June 23, 1775 (cf. OED), but there is evidence that it was used as early as 1768.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper