proa
nounUK /ˈpɹəʊ.ə/ · US /ˈpɹoʊ.ə/
Etymology From Malay perau, a variant of perahu. In some forms via Portuguese parão or Dutch prauw; in some forms assimilated to prow.
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: