catamaran
KAT-uh-muh-RAN · noun
TamilEnglish
Origin
From Tamil கட்டுமரம் (kaṭṭumaram), a compound of கட்டு (kaṭṭu, "to tie") and மரம் (maram, "tree, wood").
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Journey
The word simply carried its literal meaning — tied logs — from Tamil into English as the name for this style of multi-hulled boat.
Related words
It shares its second half, மரம் (maram, "wood"), with the very material the original vessels were made from.