bumboat

[ buhm-boht ]

noun

, Nautical.

1. a boat used in peddling provisions and small wares among vessels lying in port or offshore.

bumboat

/ ˈbʌmˌbəʊt /

noun

1. any small boat used for ferrying supplies or goods for sale to a ship at anchor or at a mooring

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumboat¹

1665–75; probably partial translation of Dutch bomschuit a small fishing boat, perhaps contraction of bodemschuit ( je ) literally, bottom-boat

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumboat¹

C17 (in the sense: scavenger's boat) bum , from Dutch boomschip canoe (from bom tree) + boat

Example Sentences

Soon the sailors welcome on board Little Buttercup, a Portsmouth bumboat woman who has come to sell her wares, and who is hailed as "the rosiest, the roundest and the reddest beauty in all Spithead."

From Project Gutenberg

He had been unable to sneak away from the captain's gig when ashore, but made up for it by doing business with the bumboat men who came alongside.

From Project Gutenberg

Waiting alongside were two or three bumboats well stocked with fruit, soft-tack, eggs, and such curios as a sailor might be supposed to covet.

From Project Gutenberg

I, too, thought of the bumboat woman, but gave up hope of aid from her, seeing how she is watched.

From Project Gutenberg

Then clamber into a little bumboat for a 10-minute chug out to Changi Fishery, where you can enjoy an al fresco seafood dinner surrounded by paper lanterns and water.

From BusinessWeek