Origin of "Catamaran"

[Hud3]

How many of you multi-hullers know where the word "Catamaran" comes from? I get a daily email from Wordsmith, and today the word of the day was "Catamaran":

This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages.

catamaran (kat-uh-muh-RAN) noun

1. A boat with two parallel hulls, joined by a frame.

2. A quarrelsome person, especially a woman.

[From Tamil kattumaram, from kattu (to tie) + maram (tree, wood).
Tamil is spoken in Tamilnadu, a state in southern India and in Sri Lanka.
It has about 70 million speakers.]

"'I'm convinced my catamaran, which is larger than Ellen MacArthur's,
can complete the course in 70 days,' [Tony] Bullimore said."
British Yachtsman Bullimore Sets Out on World Record Attempt;
dpa German Press Agency; May 1, 2007.

"No, madam, it was your turn to bully me once -- now it's mine, and I
use it. No, you old catamaran, though you pretend you never read novels." William Makepeace Thackeray; Lovel the Widower; Harper's; 1860.

Best regards,

[colemj]

I was recently in Tamilnadu and the people there kept referring to their catamarans, but all I saw were boats made of tree trunks tied together. That's when I learned the meaning. Was surprised that it had nothing to do with two hulls.

Mark

[colemj]

picture didn't attach...

[colemj]

oh well, can't seem to get it to work