catamaran (English)

Where does "catamaran" come from?

The word 'catamaran' originates from the Tamil term 'kaṭṭumaram,' which literally translates to 'tied wood.' It is a compound formed from 'kaṭṭu,' meaning 'to tie,' and 'maram,' meaning 'tree' or 'wood,' originally describing a raft made of logs lashed together. Eventually, the term was adopted into English to refer to the twin-hulled vessels we recognize today, and, curiously, saw figurative use in English to describe a quarrelsome person.

Full etymology tree

• catamaran (English), 'A twin-hulled ship or boat.'
  • borrowed கட்டுமரம் (kaṭṭumaram) (Tamil), 'a makeshift boat made by binding logs together with a rope; raft'
    • compound கட்டு (kaṭṭu) (Tamil), 'to tie, bind, fasten, shackle'
      • inherited *kaṭ- (Proto-Dravidian), 'to tie'
    • compound மரம் (maram) (Tamil), 'tree'
      • inherited 𑀫𑀭𑀫𑁆 (maram) (Old Tamil), 'tree'
        • inherited *maran (Proto-Dravidian), 'tree'
          • compound *mar (Proto-Dravidian)
          • compound *an (Proto-Dravidian)

Direct ancestors

• கட்டுமரம் (Tamil)
• கட்டு (Tamil)
• மரம் (Tamil)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris