Definition of Indiaman in English:
Indiaman
nounPlural Indiamen ˈɪndɪəmənˈɪndiəˌmæn
historical A ship engaged in trade with India or the East or West Indies, especially an East Indiaman.
Example sentencesExamples
- Even Samuel Pepys, then the surveyor-victualer of the Royal Navy, was unprepared for the cargo he inspected in November 1665 aboard a captured Dutch Indiaman.
- The Trades Increase, the Company's first vessel, was almost 1,000 tons and was wrecked in Java on its first voyage, and though its size was exceptional, 800-ton Indiamen were not.
- Her influential friends made special arrangements for her to be shipped to America in comfort, in an Indiaman, saving her from the appalling squalor and dangers of a convict ship.
Origin
Early 18th century: from India + -man from man-of-war.