So I’m on my way in to work this morning, listening to a French language radio station (I live in Quebec) and the host is talking about some celebrity leasing a yacht in Cannes.
She pronounced yacht as rhyming with “batch”, which although perfectly understandable considering that this person’s mother tongue is French, still made me laugh.
But at the same time, I’m curious about how such a word came to designate a boat that exists solely as a status symbol for the uber-rich.
It comes from Dutch. The Dutch called a small fast moving ship used for chasing pirates a “jaghtschip”…which means chasing ship or hunting ship. The name was then shortened to “jaghte”, and then, as Dutch changed, it became “jacht”, which was Anglicized to yacht.
It first appears in 1557 as yeaghe in the phrase Norway yeaghes); then in 1565 as yaucht in the phrase Norroway yauch) a light fast-sailing ship; probably borrowed from earlier Norwegian jagt (now jakt), from MIddle Low German jacht,
This is from my Chambers Dictionary of Etymology. He’s usually right on.