Nearby Words

buoys

[boo-ee, boi] Origin

bu·oy

[boo-ee, boi]
noun
1.
Nautical. a distinctively shaped and marked float, sometimes carrying a signal or signals, anchored to mark a channel, anchorage, navigational hazard, etc., or to provide a mooring place away from the shore.
2.
verb (used with object)
3.
to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking (often followed by up): The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived.
4.
Nautical. to mark with a buoy or buoys.
5.
to sustain or encourage (often followed by up): Her courage was buoyed by the doctor's assurances.

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Buoys is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
verb (used without object)
6.
to float or rise by reason of lightness.

Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English boye a float < Middle French *boie, boue(e) < Germanic; akin to beacon

un·buoyed, adjective

boy, buoy.


5. lift, uplift, boost, lighten; maintain, nurture.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

buoy
late 13c., perhaps from either O.Fr. buie or M.Du. boeye, both from W.Gmc. *baukn "beacon" (cf. O.H.G. bouhhan, O.Fris. baken). OED, however, supports M.Du. boeie, or O.Fr. boie "fetter, chain" (see boy), "because of its being fettered to a spot." The verb meaning "to mark with
EXPAND
a buoy" is from late 16c., from the noun; in the figurative sense (of spirits, etc.) it is recorded from 1640s.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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