Attested inAmerican English from 1709C.E.; possibly derived from an indigenous language of theWest Indies orCentral America, perhapsMiskito.

• IPA^(key):/ˈdɔːɹi/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɔːɹi

dory (pluraldories)

1. (nautical) A small flat-bottomedboat with pointed or somewhat pointed ends, used forfishing bothoffshore and onrivers.
   • 1897,Rudyard Kipling,Captains Courageous:

     From every schooner,dories were being dropped into the shining, clear water. The sound of voices and the splashes of oars carried across the sea.

   • 1907 August,Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, inThe Younger Set, New York, N.Y.:D. Appleton & Company,→OCLC:

     He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald'sdory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous[…]

   • 1960 February,John Gardner, “The Remarkable Dory: This Boat has Served Sailormen Well, and Many of Today's Able Pleasurecraft are Direct Descendants of the Line”, inPopular Boating, volume 7, number 2,→OCLC,page90:

     Thedory, and the fisherman who rowed it, are part of the maritime heritage that changed America from a group of shore-bound colonies to a nation with ships that ranged the waters of the world.

   • 1978 March, Steven H. Rubin, “The St. Pierre Dory: An Endangered Species”, inBoating, volume43, number 3,→ISSN,page72:

     It is almost impossible for anyone who loves boats not to rejoice at the sight of a St. Pierredory. Gaily painted, with lots of sheer and a defiantly jaunty look to them, thedories have been pleasing the eyes of their beholders for nearly a century.

   • 2008, Jeanna Rosembalm Bottenberg,The Dory Fleet of Pacific City, Charleston, S.C.:Arcadia Publishing,→ISBN, page41:

     Adory, by definition, is a flat-bottomed boat with two pointed (or nearly pointed) ends. The traditionaldories of the Pacific City fleet were just that. Over the years, however, they have evolved into the square-stern variety seen today.

   • 2013 November 27,John Grotzinger, “The world of Mars[print version:International Herald Tribune Magazine, 2013, page 36]”, inThe New York Times‎^[1]:

     John Wesley Powell[…] the one-armed Civil War veteran led nine men in four woodendories down the untamed and uncharted Colorado River and into the equally untamed and uncharted Grand Canyon.

FromMiddle Englishdorry, fromOld Frenchdoree,pastparticiple ofdorer(“togild”), fromLatindeauratus.

• IPA^(key):/ˈdɔːɹi/
• Rhymes:-ɔːɹi

dory (pluraldories)

1. Any of several different families of large-eyed,silvery, deep-bodied,laterallycompressed, and roughlydiscoid marine fish.
   • 1800, “Copy of an Original Manuscript, Entitled, 'A Breviate Touching the Order and Governmente of a Nobleman's House', &c. Communicated by the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K.B. P.R.S. and F.S.A.”, inArchaeologia: Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, volume XIII, London:Society of Antiquaries of London,→OCLC, page353:

     A DIATREE FOR DINNER.[…]The ſeconde Courſe.[…]Dorye

   • 2012, Shirley Cameron,Cooking the Australian Way, 8th edition, South Yarra, Vic.:Macmillan Education Australia,→ISBN, page265:

     Pan-fried fish. Barramundi, bream, flounder, garfish, JohnDory, snapper and SilverDory are suitable for this recipe.

   • 2012, Martin Hannan,Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O’Shanters: A Book of Eponyms – The People Who Inspired the Words We Use Every Day, London:John Blake Publishing,→ISBN:

     The golden skin of the fish found mostly in the Mediterranean may account for one possible reason why it is called ‘JohnDory’, since the French word for yellow is ‘jaune’ and for golden is ‘dorée’.

• bastard dory

dory (comparativemoredory,superlativemostdory)

1. (obsolete) Of a brightyellow orgolden color.

Borrowed fromAncient Greekδόρυ(dóru).

dory (pluraldoriesordorata)

1. Awoodenpike orspear about threemetres (tenfeet) in length with a flat, leaf-shapedironspearhead and abronzebutt-spike (called asauroter), which was the mainweapon ofhoplites in Ancient Greece. It was usually not thrown but ratherthrust at opponents with one hand.
   • 1990,Richard A. Gabriel,The Culture of War: Invention and Early Development (Contributions in Military Studies;96), New York, N.Y.:Greenwood Press,→ISBN, page89:

     The basic weapon of the hoplite was thedory, a wooden-shaft spear six to nine feet long with a metal point at each end.

   • 2000, Nick Sekunda,Greek Hoplite: 480–323 BC (Osprey Military, Warrior Series;27), Oxford:Osprey Publishing,→ISBN, page12:

     The principal offensive weapon of the hoplite was his spear (dory). Conquered territory was said to be 'spear-won'.

   • 2011 (republished2014 as an e-book), Chris McNab,A History of the World in 100 Weapons, Oxford: Osprey Publishing,→ISBN, page 37:

     The principal weapon of the hoplite was thedory spear. It was unusually long – it could measure up to 10ft (3m) in length, and weighed about 4.4lb (2kg). At one end was a broad, leaf-pattern spearhead, while at the other end was a metal spike called asauroter. The purpose of the spike is much debated: it almost certainly acted as a counterbalance, making the spear easier to hold and wield; it could have been used as an improvised spear point, or for making downward attacks on the enemy's exposed feet; or it might even have been embedded in the ground to keep the spear in place.

   • 2012,Fred Eugene Ray, Jr.,Greek and Macedonian Land Battles of the 4th Century B.C.: A History and Analysis of 187 Engagements, Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland & Company,→ISBN, page90:

     Sadly, the Greeks' weapons have succumbed to erosion; yet all are single-handed and one figure is striking overhead with left leg forward consistent with the use of adory.

• doru

•  dory on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  dory (fish) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  dory (spear) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “dory”, inOnline Etymology Dictionary.

• hunky dory(etymologically unrelated)

• dyor