Float

flōt, v.i. to swim on a liquid: to be buoyed up: to move lightly and irregularly: to circulate, as a rumour: to drift about aimle ly.— v.t. to cause to swim: to cover with water: to set agoing.— n. anything swimming on water: a raft: the cork or quill on a fishing-line: a plasterer's trowel.— adj. Float′able .— ns. Float′age , Flot′age , the floating capacity of a thing: anything that floats; Float′-board , a board on the rim of an undershot water-wheel on which the water acts and moves the wheel; Float′er .— adj. Float′ing , swimming: not fixed: circulating.— n. action of the verb float : the spreading of plaster on the surface of walls.— ns. Float′ing-batt′ery , a ve el or hulk heavily armed, used in the defence of harbours or in attacks on marine fortre es; Float′ing-bridge , a bridge of rafts or beams of timber lying on the surface of the water; Float′ing-dock (see Dock ); Float′ing-is′land , an aggregation of driftwood, roots, ., capable of bearing soil, floated out from a river delta or the like; Float′ing-light , a ship, bearing a light, moored on sunken rocks, to warn seamen of danger.— adv. Float′ingly .— n. Float′-stone , a porous, sponge-like variety of quartz, so light as to float for a while on water.— adj. Float′y . [A.S. flotian , to float; Ice. flota .]