sailboat
UK[ˈseɪlbəʊt]US[ˈseɪlboʊt]
n
a small boat that uses one or more sails to catch the wind and move across water.
Morpheme Breakdown
sail
boat
sail
noun
boat
noun
Etymology
the word 'sailboat' is a transparent compound formed from two old english nouns, 'sail' and 'boat'. its logic is purely descriptive, directly naming a type of boat defined by its primary means of propulsion. both elements have germanic roots, with 'sail' related to old norse segl and 'boat' having cognates across germanic languages. the compound's meaning has remained literal and stable since its formation, representing a straightforward combination of two core concepts in maritime vocabulary.
Analysis
Structure: sail (noun) + boat (noun)
sail (from old english segl, meaning a piece of fabric used to catch wind for propulsion; germanic origin). boat (from old english bāt, meaning a small vessel for traveling on water; germanic origin).
Examples
the children learned to steer the small sailboat on the lake.
we spent the afternoon relaxing on his new sailboat.
a classic wooden sailboat was anchored in the harbor.