Dory
/ˈdɔːri/noun
A small, flat-bottomed boat or a type of fish, especially in British English.
Did you know?The boat sense of dory likely comes from French, while the fish name is a separate borrowing from a regional French word for a kind of fish, so the “same” English word may actually be two different etymological arrivals.
Etymological Timeline
14th Century
French
dorée
“a gilded or golden thing; later a fish name in some regional usage”
16th Century
English
dory
“a type of small flat-bottomed boat used for fishing or transport”
17th Century
English
dory
“a fish name, especially the John Dory”
Modern English
English
dory
“a small boat or a fish, depending on context”