float, flote, flotie

i. & t. [A. S. flotian; Dut. vlotten; O. H. Ger. flozzan; Icel. flota.] [FLOAT, 8.] A. Intransitive: 1. To swim on the surface of a liquid; to rest upon the surface without sinking. "Was graceful, when it pleased him, smooth and still As the mute swan that floats down the stream." Words worth: Excursion, bk. vi. IMG:content-1772.png:[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic][merged small] basin a ship is floated while the dock is partially submerged; the cai on being closed, the water in the dock and the space intervening between the two skins is pumped out, so that the interior may IMG:content-1773.jpg:[blocks in formation] (1) The second coat of three-coat plastering. (2) The spreading of stucco or plaster on the surface of walls. 3. Weav.: A term applied to a thread which spans *2. To swim in a liquid. 3. To move move or glide without apparent effort, as if a considerable number of threads without inter sec- buoyed up in a fluid. IMG:content-1774.png:[blocks in formation] (1) Set afloat; caused to float on a fluid. *(2) Inundated, flooded, covered with water. 2. Fig.: Started, set in action; brought out; as, a company is floated. float-er, s. [Eng. float; -er.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. Lit .: One who or that which floats. "Pity the floaters on the Ionian seas." Eusden, Ovid: Metamorphoses iv. 2. Sometimes used of dead bodies floating in with the tide. 3. Fig .: One who floats or starts a busine or company. II. Hydr. Eng.: A registering float on a grad uated stick, to indicate a level attained between periods of observation. tion. This is an incident to twilling. [TWILL.] Diapers, for instance, are five-leaf twills; that is, every warp floats under four threads of woof, and is raised and interwoven with the fifth. Also called Flushing (q. v.). IMG:content-1775.png:[blocks in formation] 1. A bridge composed of rafts or timber, with a plank floor, resting wholly upon the water. 2. A form of ferry-boat which is guided and impelled by chains which are anchored on each side of the river, and pa over wheels on the sides of the ve el, the wheels being driven by steam-power. Lifting platforms at each end admit vehicles. 3. The floating-bridge for canals rests on a cai on or pontoon, and is opened and closed by chains and windla es. When it is open, it lies in a rece in the side of the canal made to receive it. The pontoon is made of sheet-iron, and is designed to act as a girder when the bridge is closed. 4. A kind of double bridge, the upper projecting beyond the lower, an lcapable of being moved forward by pulleys. It is used to enable troops to pa over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort, .