Yachtbuilding

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process or industry involved in designing, constructing, and assembling luxury recreational boats intended for private use or sport
2. The craft and business of planning and creating specialized water vessels distinguished by their size, style, and purpose for leisure activities
3. The art and commercial practice focusing on the fabrication and outfitting of high-end sailing or motorized vessels used primarily for personal pleasure and competition

Etymology: Yachtbuilding is a compound of "yacht" and "building," and the first part carries a more surprising history than the second. "Yacht" comes from Dutch "jacht," a word for a fast small sailing vessel, shortened from "jachtschip," literally "chase ship" or "hunting ship," since such craft were used to pursue pirates and smugglers. English sailors borrowed the term in the 1500s, and it reached English largely through the Dutch navy and shipbuilders of the period. The sense of a vessel for pleasure rather than work arrived later. Charles II of England received a yacht from the Dutch in 1660, and his enthusiasm for sailing for amusement helped attach the word to recreational boats. The meaning of "yacht" as a private pleasure craft was established by the 1600s, which is why the trade of making them became a distinct activity. "Building" is the ordinary Old English verb "byldan," derived from "bold," meaning dwelling or house. So the whole word joins a Dutch hunting-vessel term to a native English verb for construction, with the sense of leisure now carried by the first element.

Synonyms: yacht construction, boat building