Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A flatbottom Asian skiff usually propelled by two oars.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A small boat used on the coasts of China, Japan, and Java, corresponding to the skiff of Europe and America, and propelled with either sculls or a sail. It is sometimes provided with a fore-and-aft roofing of mats, affording shelter and habitation for a family.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Naut.) A Chinese boat from twelve to fifteen feet long, covered with a house, and sometimes used as a permanent habitation on the inland waters.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nautical A
flat -bottomed Chinese wooden boat propelled by twooars .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an Asian skiff usually propelled by two oars
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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But the sampan was already by us and wasn't stopping.
Tour of Duty 2003
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But the sampan was already by us and wasn't stopping.
Tour of Duty 2003
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The surf, through which it is carried in an open boat, called a sampan lonchore, renders such accidents unavoidable.
The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants William Marsden 1795
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The word "sampan" literally means "three planks" in Cantonese, from the words sam (三, three) and pan (板, plank). [
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The next day, when Alf started to go ashore, he found himself surrounded by shouting and gesticulating, though very respectful, sampan men, all extraordinarily anxious to have him for a passenger.
In Yeddo Bay 2010
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A dozen sampan men and boys hailed Alf and offered their services.
In Yeddo Bay 2010
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From the depot he hurried through the quaint Japanese streets to the harbor, and hired a sampan boatman to put him aboard a certain vessel whose familiar rigging had quickly caught his eye.
The Lost Poacher 2010
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And for the rest of the Annie Mine's stay in port, the sampan men refused money at Alf Davis's hand.
In Yeddo Bay 2010
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And this was one gale of three in the course of those eight days in the sampan.
SMALL-BOAT SAILING 2010
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The point is that I was in an open boat, a sampan, on a rocky coast where there were no light-houses and where the tides rip.
SMALL-BOAT SAILING 2010
jaime_d commented on the word sampan
"The sampan pilot from Siogama to Ishinomaki, the postman galloping from Kyoto to Ogaki, what do they travel but time?" from "Fifty-seven Views of Fujiyama" by Guy Davenport
January 19, 2010