regatta

[ ri-gat-uh, -gah-tuh ]

/ rɪˈgæt ə, -ˈgɑ tə /

noun

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.

Nearby words

regardant, regardful, regarding, regardless, regards, regatta, regd, regd., regelate, regelation, regency

Origin of regatta

1645–55; < Upper Italian (Venetian) regatta, regata, perhaps ≪ Vulgar Latin *recaptāre to contend, equivalent to *re- re- + *captāre to try to seize; see catch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for regatta

It was a regatta without spectators, but as full of excitement as if the shores had been fringed with a cheering crowd.
Sevenoaks|J. G. Holland
He had gone through three commemoration balls at Oxford about ten days before the regatta.
Boating|W. B. Woodgate
Thus when the regatta day came there was a vast concourse of people to witness the contest.
Cornish Characters|S. Baring-Gould
In the year 1891 the regatta was first conducted in a business-like manner.
Yachting Vol. 2|Various.

Regatta is a stout, coloured shirt cloth similar in make to a jeanette.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for regatta

regatta

/ (rɪˈɡætə) /

noun

an organized series of races of yachts, rowing boats, etc

Word Origin for regatta

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for regatta

regatta

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.