boat: [OE] In origin, the word boat seems to be restricted to northern parts of Europe: Old English bāt and Old Norse beit are the only early examples (German boot was borrowed from them, and French bateau comes from the English word). They point to a common Germanic origin in *bait-. It has been speculated that this may be related to bitt ‘post for fastening ship’s cables’. If true, this could mean that boat originally referred to one or other of the structural members of a wooden vessel.
boat (n.)
Old English bat "boat, ship, vessel," from Proto-Germanic *bait- (cognates: Old Norse batr, Dutch boot, German Boot), possibly from PIE root *bheid- "to split" (see fissure) if the notion is of making a boat by hollowing out a tree trunk; or it may be an extension of the name for some part of a ship. French bateau "boat" is from Old English or Norse. Spanish batel, Italian battello, Medieval Latin batellus likewise probably are from Germanic.
双语例句
1. Driving a boat is not the same as driving a car.
驾船和开车不是一回事。
来自柯林斯例句
2. They had almost reached the boat when a figure shot past them.
他们差不多快到船边时，一个人影从他们旁边飞奔而过。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He found the binoculars and focused them on the boat.
他找到双筒望远镜，然后调焦对准那艘船看。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The boat started to spin around in the water.
船开始在水中打旋。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The boat was anchored off the northern coast of the peninsula.
