dinghy

[ding-gee] /ˈdɪŋ gi/
noun, plural dinghies.
1.
any small boat designed as a tender or lifeboat, especially a small ship's boat, rowed, sailed, or driven by a motor.
2.
a boat used by warships, having four single-banked oars and a spritsail.
3.
any of various rowing or sailing boats used in sheltered waters along the Indian coasts to transport passengers and freight.
4.
an inflatable life raft.
Origin
1785-95; < Bengali diṅgi, Hindi ḍiṅgī, diminutive of ḍiṅgā boat
Can be confused
dinghy, dingy.
Examples from the web for dinghy
  • Learn about wooden boat building techniques and styles, and how to get started building your own wooden kayak, dinghy or canoe.
  • The tidelands south of the dinghy dock are part of an archaeological site and remain closed to digging.
  • Leaving a dinghy at a buoy or dock does not reserve a moorage space.
  • She also had an idea for a dinghy, one that could be powered either by a motor or by oars.
  • Also available to members is a punt float for dinghy tie-up.
British Dictionary definitions for dinghy

dinghy

/ˈdɪŋɪ/
noun (pl) -ghies
1.
any small boat, powered by sail, oars, or outboard motor Also (esp formerly) dingy, dingey
verb (pl) -gies, -gying, -gied
2.
(transitive) (Brit, slang) to ignore (a person) or avoid (an event)
Word Origin
C19: from Hindi or Bengali dingi a little boat, from dingā boat
Word Origin and History for dinghy
n.

1810, from Hindi dingi "small boat," perhaps from Sanskrit drona-m "wooden trough," related to dru-s "wood, tree" (see tree (n.)). The spelling with -h- is to indicate a hard -g-.