sampan
noun
sam·pan ˈsam-ˌpan 
: a flat-bottomed skiff used in eastern Asia and usually propelled by two short oars
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Malay, Chinese and Indian laborers did laundry, steered sampan boats and cleared land for the White military members. 
Lilit Marcus, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022 Max, 6, my youngest, bolted past the staff lined up to greet us and planted his nose on the lee-side picture window to watch a woman in a conical hat haul a net of glittering fish onto her sampan. Laura Dannen Redman, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018 Housed in a pastel-yellow colonial building opposite a 16th-century church, its entrance is flanked by tall vases, depicting sampan gliding between karst hills. The Economist, 19 May 2018 The petite young woman who rowed our sampan had powerful, broad shoulders and tough, worn hands gripping the oars. Diana Lambdin Meyer, kansascity.com, 9 May 2017 Small sampan boats, ox carts, tuk-tuks, bicycle rickshaws, and your own two feet get you through two countries heavy with history. Veronica Stoddart, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2017
Lilit Marcus, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022 Max, 6, my youngest, bolted past the staff lined up to greet us and planted his nose on the lee-side picture window to watch a woman in a conical hat haul a net of glittering fish onto her sampan. Laura Dannen Redman, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018 Housed in a pastel-yellow colonial building opposite a 16th-century church, its entrance is flanked by tall vases, depicting sampan gliding between karst hills. The Economist, 19 May 2018 The petite young woman who rowed our sampan had powerful, broad shoulders and tough, worn hands gripping the oars. Diana Lambdin Meyer, kansascity.com, 9 May 2017 Small sampan boats, ox carts, tuk-tuks, bicycle rickshaws, and your own two feet get you through two countries heavy with history. Veronica Stoddart, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2017 Word History
Etymology
Chinese (Guangdong) sàambáan, from sàam three + báan board, plank
First Known Use
1620, in the meaning defined above
sampan
noun
as in canoe
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- canoe
- rowboat
- skiff
- pirogue
- wherry
- pontoon
- dhow
- bateau
- raft
- outrigger
- flatboat
- scow
- coracle
- dinghy
- pinnace
- shallop
- kayak
- dory
- paddleboat
- johnboat
- catamaran
- dink
- umiak
- pram
- watercraft
- surfboat
- curragh
- scull
- piragua
- vessel
- motorboat
- yacht
- dugout
- schooner
- punt
- sailboat
- garvey
- shell
- currach
- bumboat
- riverboat
- longboat
- gig
- barge
- ketch
- powerboat
- cruiser
- catboat
- houseboat
- outboard
- craft
- rowing boat
- lifeboat
- inboard
- caïque
- cutter
- ferry
- tugboat
- yawl
- ferryboat
- bottom
- auxiliary
- keel
- tender
- keelboat
- taxi
- hoy
- towboat
- gondola
- lighter
- launch
- tug
- jolly boat
- narrow boat
- water taxi
- pearl essence
- pearl eye
- pearl glue
- pearl grain
- pearl gray
- Pearl Harbor
- pearl hominy
- pearl kite
- pearl lamp
- pearl millet
- pearl moss
- pearl mussel
- pearl of wisdom
- pearl onion
- pearl opal
- pearl oyster
- pearl perch
- pearl pink
- pearl plant
- pearl shell
- pearl sheller
- pearl sinter
- pearl tapioca
- pearl ware
- pearl white