proa

Etymology

From Malay perau, a variant of perahu. In some forms via Portuguese parão or Dutch prauw; in some forms assimilated to prow.

noun

1. A sailing vessel found in the waters of Micronesia and Indonesia; it has a single, large outrigger and a triangular sail.
   1894, Ivan Dexter, Talmud: A Strange Narrative of Central Australia, published in serial form in Port Adelaide News and Lefevre's Peninsula Advertiser (SA), Chapter XXII, http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks16/1600641.txt I noticed that on the sea were numerous fantastically shaped canoes—or rather boats—like Malay proas, or the canoes used by many of the South Sea islanders.
   Malay ‘prahu’ or proa were said to be more than a match for British vessels. 2020, Sujit Sivasundaram, Waves Across the South, William Collins, published 2021, page 231