Pirogue
/pɪˈroʊɡ/noun
A small, narrow boat, often dug out of a log or built lightly for use on shallow water.
Did you know?Pirogue entered English through French from a Caribbean Indigenous word, showing how colonial trade routes carried not just goods but entire names for the boats themselves.
Etymological Timeline
Taíno (pre-Columbian)
Taíno
piragua
“A canoe or small boat”
16th Century
Spanish
piragua
“A small boat or canoe, borrowed from Indigenous Caribbean speech”
17th Century
French
pirogue
“A small boat, especially one used in shallow waters or rivers”
18th Century
English
pirogue
“A long, narrow boat used especially in the Americas”