dahabeeya

English

Watercolor by Edward Lear of Egyptian dahabeeyas, gyassis, and nuggers. The boat depicted above and to the right of the statue is a dahabeeya.

Noun

dahabeeya (plural dahabeeyas)

1. A large, slow, flat-bottomed boat with a sail at one end, used on the Nile river for carrying passengers, hauling cargo, or as a houseboat.
   • 1922, The Auk - Volume 39, page 153:

     Together they organized an expedition by dahabeeya down the Nile, where they did considerable shooting and Cory made important additions to his collection of birds.

   • 1992, Martin R. Kalfatovic, Nile Notes of a Howadji, page 243:

     Engaging William Prime's (q.v.) dragoman, he visits the bazaars, mosques, and Pyramids before sailing in the dahabeeya Rip Van Winkle up the Nile.

   • 2010, Barbara M. Moskaitis, The Eye of the Lioness:

     They had gone on foot just for the chance to be free of the confines of the constantly rolling rhythm of the dahabeeya.