A small, lightweight fishing boat with a flat bottom and high sides, often used in rough ocean waters.
Possibly from Malayalam 'doni' or other South Asian origins, borrowed through Portuguese traders. Some etymologists suggest a connection to Polynesian boat-building traditions.
The dory became famous in American fishing culture, especially in New England, and there's a famous sea shanty called 'The Banks of Newfoundland' about dory fishing in dangerous waters—it's historically connected to some of the most grueling work at sea.
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