Pushboats

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of vessel designed to tow or push barges, typically used in inland waterways for transporting goods
2. A specialized boat employed to maneuver other vessels by pushing them, primarily within rivers and canals
3. A craft primarily built for the purpose of assisting in navigation by exerting force on other boats or moving freight over water

Etymology: "Pushboat" is a plain compound of "push" and "boat," built from two ordinary English words, and the plural simply adds "s" to the end. The compound describes a vessel whose job is to push barges or other unpowered craft rather than tow them from the front. The term belongs to the vocabulary of inland waterways, where it is the standard name for these vessels, especially on rivers such as the Mississippi. The word is a modern technical coinage, not an old one. Its meaning is literal: the boat pushes, the same logic behind words like "steamboat" or "rowboat," where the first element names what the boat does or runs on. Because the function is so direct, there is no hidden history of shifting meaning or borrowing behind it, and its story is simply the story of two English words placed side by side for a specific trade.

Synonyms: tugboats, towboats