Where does “rowboatful” come from?

rowboatful (English) comes from English rowboat, from English rōw, from English roll, from Middle English rolle, from Old French rolle, from Medieval Latin rotulus, from Latin rotula, from Arabic رَطْل — ingot.

rowboatful (English): Enough to fill a rowboat

Definitions

  1. Enough to fill a rowboat

Ancestry of “rowboatful”, step by step

rowboatful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English rowboat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrowboatA small open boat propelled by oars
2EnglishrōwA line of objects, often regularly spaced, such as seats in a theatre, vegetable plants in a garden, etc
3EnglishrollTo cause to revolve by turning over and over; to...
4Middle Englishrolle
5Old Frenchrolleregistration
6Medieval Latinrotulusa roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a...
7Latinrotulaa small wheel; roll
8Arabicرَطْل
9Classical Syriacܪܝܛܠܐ
10Classical Syriacܠܝܛܪܐlibra, pound
11Frenchlitrelitre
12Medieval Latinlitra
13Ancient Greekλίτραlitra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of...
14Proto-Italic*līðrāingot

via English ful

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishful
Every word from Proto-Italic *līðrāEvery word from Ancient Greek λίτραEvery word from Medieval Latin litra