Watercraft of some form or another seems to have existed for around the last 50,000 years, with the first rafts coming from settlers in Australia. But since then they have evolved enormously, from canoes to rowboats, to war and cruiseships. With them has evolved the terminology we use, but how much do we actually understand what we’re saying? What is the difference between a ship, and a boat?
The etymology of the two words can give us some insight. Both come from Old English, where boat or “bat”, may have meant something like “to split”, potentially referencing the way a tree trunk is split to carve out a boat. Ship, however, comes from “scip”, which specifically refers to a larger ship for navigation.
So it’s sorted: a ship is larger than a boat. Problem solved! Except it’s not that simple.