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pontoon

 - 8 dictionary results

pon⋅toon

1[pon-toon]
–noun
1. Military. a boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river.
2. a float for a derrick, landing stage, etc.
3. Nautical. a float for raising a sunken or deeply laden vessel in the water; a camel or caisson.
4. a seaplane float.
Also, pon⋅ton [pon-tn] .


Origin:
1585–95; < F ponton < L pontōn- (s. of pontō) flat-bottomed boat, punt

pon⋅toon

2[pon-toon]
–noun British.
the card game twenty-one.

Origin:
1915–20; alter. of F vingt-et-un twenty-one

cais⋅son

[key-suhn, -son]
–noun
1. a structure used in underwater work, consisting of an airtight chamber, open at the bottom and containing air under sufficient pressure to exclude the water.
2. a boatlike structure used as a gate for a dock or the like.
3. Nautical.
a. Also called camel, pontoon. a float for raising a sunken vessel, sunk beside the vessel, made fast to it, and then pumped out to make it buoyant.
b. a watertight structure built against a damaged area of a hull to render the hull watertight; cofferdam.
4. a two-wheeled wagon, used for carrying artillery ammunition.
5. an ammunition chest.
6. a wooden chest containing bombs or explosives, used formerly as a mine.
7. Architecture. coffer (def. 4).

Origin:
1695–1705; < F, MF < OPr, equiv. to caissa box (see case 2 ) + -on aug. suffix


caissoned, adjective

cam⋅el

[kam-uhl]
–noun
1. either of two large, humped, ruminant quadrupeds of the genus Camelus, of the Old World. Compare Bactrian camel, dromedary.
2. a color ranging from yellowish tan to yellowish brown.
3. Also called camel spin. Skating. a spin done in an arabesque position.
4. Nautical.
a. Also called pontoon. a float for lifting a deeply laden vessel sufficiently to allow it to cross an area of shallow water.
b. a float serving as a fender between a vessel and a pier or the like.
c. caisson (def. 3a).

Origin:
bef. 950; ME, OE < L camēlus < Gk kámēlos < Sem; cf. Heb gāmāl


cam⋅el⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pontoon
pon·toon   (pŏn-tōōn')   
n.  
  1. A floating structure, such as a flatbottom boat, that is used to support a bridge.

  2. A floating structure serving as a dock.

  3. A float on a seaplane.


[French ponton, from Old French, from Latin pontō, pontōn-, floating bridge, from pōns, pont-, bridge; see pent- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

caisson 
1704, from Fr. caisson, from M.Fr. caisson "large box," from It. cassone, augmentive form of cassa "a chest," from L. capsa "a box."

camel 
O.E., from L. camelus, from Gk. kamelos, from Heb. or Phoen. gamal, perhaps related to Ar. jamala "to bear." Another O.E. word for the beast was olfend, apparently were based on confusion of camels with elephants in a place and time when both were known only from travelers' vague descriptions. The Arabian have one hump (the lighter variety is the Dromedary); the Bactrian have two humps.

pontoon 
1676, from Fr. pontoon, from M.Fr. ponton, from L. pontonem (nom. ponto) "flat-bottomed boat," from pons "bridge." Pontoon bridge is first recorded 1778.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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