dory

noun

1. A small flat-bottomed boat with pointed or somewhat pointed ends, used for fishing both offshore and on rivers.

   “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.”

   “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's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous […]”

   “The dory, 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.”

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

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

2. Any of several different families of large-eyed, silvery, deep-bodied, laterally compressed, and roughly discoid marine fish.

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

   “Pan-fried fish. Barramundi, bream, flounder, garfish, John Dory, snapper and Silver Dory are suitable for this recipe.”

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

3. A wooden pike or spear about three metres (ten feet) in length with a flat, leaf-shaped iron spearhead and a bronze butt-spike (called a sauroter), which was the main weapon of hoplites in Ancient Greece. It was usually not thrown but rather thrust at opponents with one hand.

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

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

   “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 a dory.”

adj

1. (obsolete)Of a bright yellow or golden color.

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A diminutive of the female given names Dorothy or Doris.
2. (countable, uncountable)A surname.