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Glite Dictionary
Indiaman

Indiaman

1 9.9
A large sailing ship that European countries used in the past to trade with India
  • noun
  • /ˈɪndiəmən/
  • Archaic
: indiaman
  • Historically, an Indiaman was an essential part of Britain's trade route to India, returning with valuable goods.
  • East Indiaman

Examples

  • It had been broken four years before in an ill-advised attack on a French East Indiaman, and it still bothered him on occasion.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The East India Company owned many large ships, including several Indiaman that sailed to trade spices and cotton.

  • The museum displayed an impressive model of an Indiaman, illustrating the size and design of these trading vessels.

Synonyms

merchant ship
vsIndiaman
7 3.4

A ship that carries goods to sell

is the specific historical large sailing kind used for India trade
merchantman
vsIndiaman
  • Archaic
1 8.9

A ship that carries goods for trade, often between countries

is a historical large sailing type used specifically for trade with India

Surface Forms

Indiaman singular
Indiamans plural

Morphology

Indiaman = India + man (opaque) = India + man

Although formed from 'India' + 'man', the historical meaning 'a ship engaged in the India trade' is not predictable from the components for an average learner.

Etymology

Indiaman comes from India plus the ending -man, used in ship names like East Indiaman, and it originally meant a ship that sailed to India to trade. So an Indiaman is a large trading ship used by Europeans for long voyages between Europe and India.