catamarán

catamaran

noun kah-tah-mah-RAHN Rare

Origin: From Tamil kattumaram ('tied logs'), via Portuguese or French.

Usage Note

Catamarán is the standard Spanish term for the twin-hulled vessel. The written accent on the final syllable is essential to distinguish it from the unaccented penultimate-stress pattern; without it the word would be mispronounced. The plural catamaranes follows the regular -n → -nes pattern.

Examples

"Cruzamos la bahía en catamarán."

Natural Translation

We crossed the bay on a catamaran.

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