dhow

[prettygoodword]

One more ship? One more ship!


dhow (DOW) - n., an Arab usually one-masted lateen-rigged boat with a long overhang forward, a high poop, and a low waist.


Used mainly in the Arabian, east-African, and Indian coasts. Origins and history are obscure, but dates to at least the 1400s if not earlier. There's some speculation that some models were based on or influenced by the caravel. As for the name, it's from Arabic dāwa, from Persian dow, run, from PIE *dʰew-, to run. A modern example:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

hi ship!

[prettygoodword]

Hi ship, indeed. (I could have found a better example, though.)

[minoanmiss]

Cargoes
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amythysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.

[prettygoodword]

Good old Masefield.

[flwyd]

Now I want to describe some living creatures as "high poop/low-waist."

[prettygoodword]

Heh.