Steamboats

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of watercraft powered by steam engines that facilitates navigation along rivers and lakes
2. Vessels designed for travel on waterways, utilizing steam power for propulsion and often characterized by distinct paddle wheels
3. Boats propelled by steam engines, commonly used in the 19th century for transport and commerce on inland waters

Etymology: "Steamboats" is the plural of "steamboat," a compound of "steam" (from Old English "stēam") and "boat" (from Old English "bāt"). The compound says exactly what it means, a vessel driven by steam power, so its origin is plain. The singular also has a separate slang sense, which may come from a comic cartoon character named Steamboat Willie, used as rhyming slang for "silly," or from a stereotype of drunken steamboat passengers. Those uncertain origins belong to that figurative use, not to the literal boats.

Synonyms: riverboats, steamships