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ba·teau also bat·teau

(bă-tō)

n. pl. ba·teaux also bat·teaux (-tōz)

1. Canada & New England A long, light, flatbottom boat with a sharply pointed bow and stern.

2. South Atlantic & Gulf States A small, light, flatbottom rowboat.

[Canadian and Louisiana French, from French, boat, from Old French batel, from Old English bāt; see bheid- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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