α. early Middle English botor.
β. Middle English botere, 1600s 1800s– boater.
boatern.
/ˈbəʊtə/, U.S. /ˈboʊdər/ 1.
a. A person who pilots a boat for a living, (in later use) esp. on a canal; a boatman or boatwoman.
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society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [noun] > boatman or waterman > on a canal
boater1884
1235 in Liber Feodorum (1920) I. 434 (MED) De ixa parte unius parvi feodi Rogeri le Botor.
1321 in R. R. Sharpe Cal. Coroners Rolls London (1913) 41 [Gilbert de Haryngeseye] botere.
1365 in B. Thuresson Middle Eng. Occup. Terms (1950) 86 (MED) Thom. Sherman and Joh. le Soutere, boteres.
1605 Ayr Session Rec. 14 Jan. Johne Boyd, boater and his wyfe.
1673 Kirkcudbright Town Council Rec. 8 Jan. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue V. 219/2 With full power to the saidis boaters to..ressave of fraucht fra ilk footman for his overcoming four pennies Scots money.
1825 L. Hunt tr. F. Redi Bacchus in Tuscany 857 Boaters, who know how to feather, Never get tired.
1884 G. Smith in Pall Mall Gaz. 8 Apr. 11/2 Interfering with the boaters and their earnings.
1977 J. Lee Tales Boatmen Told vi. 67 There was one woman boater there and I told this woman I worked on the canal, but I didn't know whether she did or not.
1993 S. Stewart Ramlin Rose v. 50 Lots of didgy-dodgy loads us boaters had sneaked during the war to out-of-the-way wharfs..went over to the lorry-chaps.
b. A person who uses or travels in a boat for recreation, or races in a boat, esp. a rowing boat, as a sport. Cf. boating n. 3a.
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society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > [noun] > casual or amateur sailor
boater1866
weekend sailor1976
1866 John Bull 19 May 339/2 There is no doubt at present a far larger proportion of reading men are boaters than cricketers.
1883 Athenæum 22 Dec. 822/1 A Thames-side subject, with boaters loitering at the bank.
1934 W. H. Chamberlain Russia's Iron Age vi. 123 The Moscow River has its full quota of swimmers and boaters on hot summer days.
1955 Univ. Florida Law Rev. 8 409 Boaters, skiers, fishermen, and swimmers would be permitted to enjoy only that portion of the lake waters defined by an extension of their riparial property lines.
2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 11 May (Travel section) 3/2 The pass would save boaters 12 miles of travel between Wahweap Marina and popular uplake destinations.
2. A hardened straw hat with a flat top and a brim, originally worn while boating. Cf. slightly earlier boater hat at Compounds and also straw boater n. at straw n.1 Compounds 3.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > made of specific material > straw > types of
Dunstable1805
Leghorn1810
skimmer1830
Tuscan hat1830
boating hat1840
mushroom1843
Milan hat1855
toering1855
bergère hat1873
Zulu hat1880
boater1882
boat hat1889
straw yard1900
donkey's breakfast1901
brimmer1902
straw boater1905
balibuntal1913
1882 Leeds Mercury 13 May 1/5 (advt.) Boys' mixed straws... Boys' mixed boaters... Boys' white pearl boaters.
1896 River 8 Aug. 5/1 The news has gone forth from one end of Wood-street to the other that the Prince of Wales has purchased a ‘boater’, and will wear it..for the rest of the summer.
1908 Minutes Evid. Customs Tariff Comm. Cape of Good Hope 718 Trimmings go mostly on gent's boaters.
1966 H. Davies New London Spy (1967) 16 Henley Regatta right at end [of June] and often into July (more blazers and boaters, champagne, strawberries and funny voices saying Good Show, Chaps).
2003 G. Shteyngart Russ. Debutante's Handbk. iii. xvii. 161 Roberta was peeking out of a cab door, waving her big yellow boater.
Compounds
attributive denoting a type of hat made of hardened straw, originally worn for boating, as boater hat, boater straw, etc. See also sense 2.
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1881 Liverpool Mercury 3 Aug. 1/6 (advt.) Trimmed straw and boater hats.
1882 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 1 July 1/5 (advt.) Boys' sailor and boater straw hats.
1899 Bristol Mercury 24 Nov. 7/6 The boater straw in its main feature appeared to be as settled and secure as the silken ‘cylinder of civilisation’.
1910 H. G. Wells Hist. Mr. Polly vii. 151 Boater straws, imitation Panamas, [etc.].
1948 E. Waugh Loved One i. 5 Sir Ambrose wore dark grey flannels, an Eton Rambler tie, an I Zingari ribbon in his boater hat.
1980 N. Busch Continent's Edge i. 24 None of them had boater straws or blue flannel blazers.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 June (Styles section) 3/1 Boater hats are having a bit of a moment: Marc Jacobs included a colorful array..in his spring collection.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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