/ba toh"/ ; Fr. /bann toh"/ , n. , pl. bateaux /-tohz"/ ; Fr. /-toh"/ .
1. Also, batteau . Naut.
a. Chiefly Canadian and Southern U.S. a small, flat-bottomed rowboat used on rivers.
b. a half-decked, sloop-rigged boat used for fishing on Chesapeake Bay; skipjack.
c. (in some regions) a scow.
2. a pontoon of a floating bridge.
[ 1705-15, Amer.; batel, equiv. to bat ( bat BOAT) + -el dim. suffix -ellus; see -ELLE ]