jolly boat

jolly boat

See also: jollyboat

English

Alternative forms

• jollyboat

Etymology

Uncertain.

Noun

jolly boat (plural jolly boats)

1. A type of ship's boat of the 17th to 19th centuries, used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship.
   • 1696, John Houghton, Collection for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, London, Issue 187:

     Boats for Ships. A Jolly-boat. A Long-boat. A Skiffe. A Pinnace. A Water-boat. A Yaul.

   • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 346:

     [H]e went down the ship's side […] and, seating himself in the stern sheets of the jolly-boat, took the helm, pushed off, and four young lads rowed him ashore.