Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Most barges are not self-propelled and need to be moved by tugboats towing or pushing them. Barges on canals (towed by draft animals on an adjacent towpath) contended with the railway in the early industrial revolution but were outcompeted in the carriage of high value items due to the higher speed, falling costs, and route flexibility of rail transport. Barges are still used today for low value bulk items, as the cost of hauling goods by barge is very low.

Etymology

barge is attested from 1300, from Old French barge, from [[Vulgar Latin barga. The word originally could refer to any small boat, the modern meaning arose around

Related Topics:
1300 - Old French

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bark "small ship" is attested from 1420, from Olf French barque, from Vulgar Latin barca (400 AD). The more precise meaning "three-masted ship" arose in the 17th century, and often takes the French spelling for disambiguation.

Related Topics:
Bark - 1420 - 400 - 17th century

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Both are probably derived from a Latin *barica, from Greek baris "Egyptian boat", ultimately from m Coptic bari "small boat."

Related Topics:
Latin - Greek - Coptic

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