boatman

B3O1A1T1M3A1N1
/ˈbəʊt.mən//ˈbəʊt.mæn/

noun

A sailor on a small vessel (boat), particularly its captain.

“Near-synonym: boatkeeper”

Similar
boatsmanboaterboatkeeperwaterman
OriginMiddle English boteman →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Word of the Day · Oct 31, 2023

Meanings

boatman1

nounboatman (plural boatmen)

plural boatmen

  1. A sailor on a small vessel (boat), particularly its captain.

    Near-synonym: boatkeeper

    Synonyms: boatsman, boater, boatkeeper

Boatman2

proper nounBoatman (countable and uncountable, plural Boatmans)

plural Boatmans

  1. countableuncountableA surname originating as an occupation for a boatman.
  2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States.
  3. countableuncountableA rural locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA sailor on a small vessel (boat), particularly its captain.

Similar
boatsmanboaterboatkeeper

More synonyms by meaning

nouna man who drives or rides in a boat

Similar
waterman
Broader
boatermanadult male
Also see
boaterboatsmanwaterman

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishboteman
  2. Englishboatman

From Middle English boteman, botman, bateman. Equivalent to boat + -man.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bengali মাল্লা
  • মাল্লা (malla)a man in charge of a small boat
Catalan barquer, barquera
  • barquera man in charge of a small boat
  • barqueraa man in charge of a small boat
Chinese Mandarin 船工
  • 船工 (chuángōng)a man in charge of a small boat
Finnish veneilijä, venemies
  • veneilijäa man in charge of a small boat
  • venemiesa man in charge of a small boat
French passeur, batelier
  • passeura man in charge of a small boat
  • bateliera man in charge of a small boat
German Ruderer
  • Ruderera man in charge of a small boat
Hebrew סִירַאי
  • סִירַאי (siray)a man in charge of a small boat
Hindi माँझी
  • माँझी (māñjhī)a man in charge of a small boat
Hungarian csónakos
  • csónakosa man in charge of a small boat
Indonesian juru mudi
  • juru mudia man in charge of a small boat
Irish bádóir
  • bádóira man in charge of a small boat
Italian barcaiolo, battelliere
  • barcaioloa man in charge of a small boat
  • battellierea man in charge of a small boat
Japanese 船頭, 舟子
  • 船頭 (sendō)a man in charge of a small boat
  • 舟子 (shūshi)a man in charge of a small boat
Portuguese barqueiro
  • barqueiroa man in charge of a small boat
Romanian barcagiu, luntraș
  • barcagiua man in charge of a small boat
  • luntrașa man in charge of a small boat
Russian ло́дочник
  • ло́дочник (lódočnik)a man in charge of a small boat
Scottish Gaelic fear-bàta
  • fear-bàtaa man in charge of a small boat
Spanish barquero, balsero
  • barqueroa man in charge of a small boat
  • balseroa man in charge of a small boat
Turkish kayıkçı
  • kayıkçıa man in charge of a small boat
Vietnamese sãi
  • sãia man in charge of a small boat
Cite this entry
APA

boatman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatman

MLA

“boatman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boatman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatman.

Source: boatman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.