Naval and Nautical Affairs

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Further reading

bumboat

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

bumboat, a small boat used for carrying vegetables, fruit, and provisions to ships lying in harbour. The term possibly derives from the Dutch boomboat, a broad-beamed fishing boat, but also possibly from bumbay, an old Suffolk word meaning quagmire. The word first appears in England in the by-laws of Trinity House in 1685 under which scavenging boats attending ships in the Thames were regulated. These boats were employed to remove ‘filth’ from ships, and also to carry vegetables for sale on board. Apparently hygiene was not highly regarded by Trinity House in 1685.

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bumboat

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bumboat †scavenger's boat on the Thames XVII; boat for the carriage of small merchandise XVII. prob. f. Du. bom bluff-bowed fishing-boat.

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T. F. HOAD. "bumboat." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "bumboat." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bumboat.html

T. F. HOAD. "bumboat." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bumboat.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Catch a bumboat to explore Singapore's tiny islands. Magazine article from: Sunset; 4/1/1990
	The history of the Navy Exchange System.(Cover story) Newspaper article from: Navy Supply Corps Newsletter; 3/1/2011
	Navy Exchange System celebrates its 60th anniversary. Newspaper article from: Navy Supply Corps Newsletter; 7/1/2006