Bateau
/bæˈtoʊ/noun
A small boat, especially a flat-bottomed one.
Did you know?Bateau comes through French from Old French batel, ultimately from a Germanic root for a boat, the same ancient family that gave English words tied to vessels and shipping.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheid-
“A root associated with splitting or making, later feeding into Germanic boat-words through early semantic development.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*batą
“A boat or vessel.”
Old English
OE
bāt
“A boat, vessel, or small watercraft.”
Old French
OF
batel
“A boat or small ship.”
Middle English
English
bateau
“A boat, especially a small one.”
Modern English
English
bateau
“A small boat, especially a flat-bottomed one.”