browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
more about floating
floating |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Floating \Float"ing\, n. The process of rendering oysters and scallops plump by placing them in fresh or brackish water; -- called also {fattening}, {plumping}, and {laying out}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Float \Float\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Floated}; p. pr & vb n. {Floating}.] [OE. flotien, flotten, AS flotian to float, swim, fr fle['o]tan. See {Float}, n.] 1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground. --Milton. Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated. --Dryden. 2. To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air. They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. --Pope. There seems a floating whisper on the hills. --Byron. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Floating \Float"ing\, a. 1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air. 2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as the floating ribs in man and some other animals. 3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as floating capital; a floating debt. Trade was at an end Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island. --Macaulay. {Floating anchor} (Naut.), a drag or sea anchor; drag sail. {Floating battery} (Mil.), a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place {Floating bridge}. a A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See {Bateau}. b (Mil.) A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. c A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. d The landing platform of a ferry dock. {Floating cartilage} (Med.), a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter. {Floating dam}. a An anchored dam. b A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock. {Floating derrick}, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc {Floating dock}. (Naut.) See under {Dock}. {Floating harbor}, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. --Knight. {Floating heart} (Bot.), a small aquatic plant ({Limnanthemum lacunosum}) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds. {Floating island}, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs. {Floating kidney}. (Med.) See {Wandering kidney}, under {Wandering}. {Floating light}, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light-ship; also a light erected on a buoy or floating stage. {Floating liver}. (Med.) See {Wandering liver}, under {Wandering}. {Floating pier}, a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide. {Floating ribs} (Anat.), the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs. {Floating screed} (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. {Floating threads} (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them in a woven fabric. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Floating \Float"ing\, n. 1. (Weaving) Floating threads. See {Floating threads}, above. 2. The second coat of three-coat plastering. --Knight. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: floating adj 1: hanging or moving freely in air; "floating thistledown"; "floating banners" 2: continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another; "a drifting double-dealer"; "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the sixties" [syn: {aimless}, {drifting}, {vagabond}, {vagrant}] 3: inclined to move or be moved about "a floating crap game" 4: (of a part of the body) not firmly connected; movable or out of normal position; "floating ribs are not connected with the sternum"; "a floating kidney" [syn: {floating(a)}] 5: not definitely committed to a party or policy; "floating voters" [syn: {floating(a)}] 6: borne up by or suspended in a liquid; "the ship is still floating"; "floating logs"; "floating seaweed"
more about floating
This work is licensed under a
