jolly boat
- noun
- Specialized
:
bote auxiliar
- During the emergency, everyone scrambled to the jolly boat for a quick escape.
Examples
-
We lowered the jolly boat into the water before setting off for a day of fishing.
-
One of the jolly boats is missing, and I know for a fact that it was terribly unsafe.
-
The crew used the jolly boat to transport supplies from the ship to the shore.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A small vehicle used on water to carry people, like a rowboat or motorboat
21
1.0
A small open boat moved with oars on lakes and rivers
18
4.8
A small open boat that people use for short trips, often to reach a larger boat
13
1.0
A boat that is small and used for short trips on lakes or rivers
2
7.9
A small flat-bottomed boat with high sides you row
2
9.9
A small boat kept on a ship to carry people or goods
1
2.3
A small boat moved with oars for sport or fun
1
9.9
A small boat from a ship that people row to shore
A small boat that a ship carries to move people between ship and shore
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'jolly' (here a small yawl-like boat) combined with 'boat' yields the meaning of a small ship's boat, so a learner who knows both constituent senses can infer the overall meaning. (Note: the noun sense of 'jolly' is rare/archaic; if a learner only knows 'jolly' as 'cheerful' they might be confused, but given the provided constituent definitions the expression is transparent.)
Etymology
The noun jolly boat may come from sailors calling their light, handy boat 'jolly' because it made quick trips and chores more cheerful, so the name stuck. That's why jolly boat means the 'small boat' carried by a ship.