Feluca

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, traditional sailing vessel commonly found in the Nile River and often used for trade and transport
2. A type of boat with a lateen sail, frequently used in the Mediterranean and known for its unique design
3. A narrow, flat-bottomed craft typically used in shallow waters, featuring one or more sails for navigation

Etymology: The boat's name comes from Arabic. "Fulk" meant ship or boat, and it passed into the Romance languages of the Mediterranean, where Italian and Spanish speakers shaped it into "feluca" and "faluca." Those forms then entered English as the name of a small, fast vessel, rigged with a triangular lateen sail on a long yard, that coastal traders and fishermen used around the Mediterranean. The sail is the key to the boat's identity. The lateen rig let it sail close to the wind and handle the shifting breezes of crowded coastlines, and the name followed the rig into European languages. Because the boat was defined by how it was rigged rather than by a single national design, the same word covered many local variants.

Synonyms: felucca, boat, sailing boat