packet boat

Meaning

Noun

• An ocean-going ship chartered by the government to carry the mail and official communications.
• A boat that carried mail, cargo, and, in later years, some passengers along a regularly scheduled route up and down a river or canal.
• A boat specifically designed to provide transportation to passengers on a regular schedule up and down a river or canal.

Origin

• From packet, meaning the packets of mail that were carried. For the passenger boats, the name derives from the boats that carried mail (and sometimes passengers) on rivers or canals, from which these services evolved.