dragon boat, n. [From The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, on CD-ROM (version 4.0), 2009]Brit. /ˈdrag(ə)n bəʊt/, U.S. /ˈdræg(ə)n ˌboʊt/
[‹ dragon n.1 + boat n.1 With sense 1 compare Chinese lóngchuán, lit. ‘dragon ship’. lóngzhōu, lit. ‘dragon boat’.]
1. A traditional type of Chinese rowing boat used in racing at an annual festival (see note), typically approx. 40 feet (12.2 metres) in length, made of teak, and decorated at the prow and stern with figures of the head and tail of a dragon. Also: any similar boat with a 22-person crew used in racing for sport. Freq. attrib. in dragon boat festival, dragon boat racing, etc.
The dragon boat festival, believed to have been celebrated for over 2,000 years, takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of the Chinese calendar throughout China and in Chinese communities worldwide. It commemorates the death of Qu Yuan (c 340 b.c. c 278 b.c.), China's first known poet, who drowned himself when his home state of Chu was overthrown; the dragon boat races traditionally represent the search for his body.
1846 J. F. Davis Chinese I. viii. 293 Accidents frequently occur from the upsetting‥of the ‘dragon-boats’, as they are called, from their great length. 1912 Jrnl. N.-China Branch Royal Asiatic Soc. 79 They raced with dragon boats, and cast offerings of rice into the river in memory of the day when the fishermen sought for the body of Kok Nguong. 1942 M. Cable & F. French Gobi Desert 33 The special dish connected with the Dragon-boat Festival‥is made of rice. 1979 Washington Post 29 Nov. a23/6 There is a gold ceremonial dragon boat dated 1670 and taken from the imperial palace in Peking, according to a plaque. 1999 Triathlete June 13/1 The seafront will be filled with spectators for the same-day Dragon Boat racing‥rowing, cycling and other events.
2. A Viking ship of war with a beaked prow...
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