The dhow was the ship of trade first used by the Somalis. The Somali people who are known to have the oldest surviving dhow which is called Beden, have traded with the ancient world from Egypt, …

dhow, one- or two-masted Arab sailing vessel, usually with lateen rigging (slanting triangular sails), common in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Bows are sharp, with a forward and upward thrust, …

The word daw is a Swahili name, and not used by the Arabs, although it was popularized by English writers in the incorrect form of dhow. The dhow was known for two distinctive features.

The Swahili term “dhow” encompasses a diversity of sailing ships, from coastal fishing boats to ocean-going vessels. Dhows drew the cosmopolitan urban communities of Indian Ocean world together. …

When a dhow brings goods to a town or village without a harbor surfboats are used to transport the goods to the beach. Some of these boats are fashioned from planks sewn together with fiber.

The meaning of DHOW is an Arab lateen-rigged boat usually having a long overhang forward, a high poop, and a low waist.

“Dhow” was the name that westerners gave to the ships they saw in the Indian Ocean. The dhow is a very old type of ship; they have been in use since the Greeks were in power.