barge

Definition

A large flat-bottomed towed or self-propelled boat used mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods or bulk cargo.

Etymology

From Middle English barge, borrowed from Old French barge (“boat”), from Vulgar Latin *barga, a variant of Late Latin barca, a regular syncope of Vulgar Latin *barica, from Classical Latin bāris, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris, “Egyptian boat”), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjrb-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1 (“transport ship”). Doublet of bark, barque and baris.

Example Sentences

• "Not far from the station can be seen one of the old barges of the Nar Navigation Company which has become so much a part of the bank it has a tree growing in it."