Dictionary

flyboat en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch vlieboot, but re-analysed as fly + boat.

Meanings

1. (historical) A large flat-bottomed coasting vessel, formerly found in Holland, Spain and Portugal.
   • August 14, 1595, Thomas Treffry, letter to Sir Robert Cecil a ship of Bristol was chased into this harbour by two Spanish fly-boats, and they report […] that there are five men of war, Spanish, in the road of Conquet
2. (Ireland, UK, historical) A kind of (often horse-drawn) passenger boat formerly used on canals. Faster than other types of canal boats at the time, the horses would run along the towpath

Forms