English

flatboat

From flat + boat.

A compound of flat + boat

Proto-Germanic *flataz ‘flat’

Old Norse flatr ‘flat, level’

Middle English flat ‘level’

English flat

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ‘to break’

…

Proto-Germanic *baitaz ‘boat’

Proto-West Germanic *bait ‘boat’

Old English bāt

Middle English bot

English boat

Today it means

noun A boxy, flat-bottomed boat used for carrying livestock, freight, and people on rivers.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / flatboat