felucca

[ fuh-luhk-uh, -loo-kuh ]

noun

1. a sailing vessel, lateen-rigged on two masts, used in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
2. a small fishing boat formerly used in the San Francisco Bay area.

felucca

/ fɛˈlʌkə /

noun

1. a narrow lateen-rigged vessel of the Mediterranean

Word History and Origins

Origin of felucca¹

1620–30; earlier falluca < Spanish faluca, earlier variant of falúa, perhaps < Catalan faluga < Arabic falūwah small cargo ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of felucca¹

C17: from Italian felucca , probably from obsolete Spanish faluca , probably from Arabic fulūk ships, from Greek epholkion small boat, from ephelkein to tow

Example Sentences

“Our lives were very hard,” said the 76-year-old Egyptian, recounting how his father, his brothers and other farmers had to use the traditional felucca sailboats to harvest the corn crops in the flooded fields.

From Washington Times

Cairo residents might have coffee at a floating restaurant or board a felucca for an hourlong cruise; Nile water flows from their taps and grows their food.

From New York Times

The felucca set sail without him but with his paintings still on board.

From New York Times

There are images of feluccas sailing on the Nile River in Egypt, ancient ruins in Greece and an older woman and two children standing by a doorway in China.

From New York Times

Mia, 13, is in a huddle of kids on the upper deck of the wooden felucca, our home for the night.

From The Guardian