A person who owns a boat or boats, particularly as a private possession or for commercial purposes.
Compound of 'boat' and 'owner' (from Old Norse 'eigandi', meaning 'to own' or 'possess'). This is a straightforward modern English compound following the pattern of 'car owner' and 'homeowner'.
Boat ownership patterns tell us about class and economy—in the 19th century, boat owners were typically wealthy merchants or nobility, but modern recreational boating democratized the privilege so that middle-class families could own vessels!
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