noun
packet
A vessel carrying mail, goods, or passengers on a regular route.
The packet carries mail along its regular coastal route.
Etymology
Packet first meant a small pack or bundle. A packet boat carried packets of mail on a regular service, and packet became the shortened vessel-name.
More examples
- Several packets served the islands.
- Passengers boarded the packet at dawn.
- The old schedule lists the packet's weekly departure.
Forms
packet · packets
Similar words
- mailboat
- Mailboat directly describes a postal vessel.
- ferry
- A ferry usually makes short crossings rather than a packet route.