pontoon
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- n pontoon a float supporting a seaplane
- n pontoon (nautical) a floating structure (as a flat-bottomed boat) that serves as a dock or to support a bridge
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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- Pontoon (Naut) A low, flat vessel, resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., chiefly in the Mediterranean; a lighter.
- Pontoon (Mil) A wooden flat-bottomed boat, a metallic cylinder, or a frame covered with canvas, India rubber, etc., forming a portable float, used in building bridges quickly for the passage of troops.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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- n pontoon In milit engin., a flat-bottomed boat, or any light framework or floating structure, used in the construction of a temporary bridge over a river. One form of pontoon is a hollow cylinder of tin-plate, with hemispherical ends, divided by several longitudinal and transverse partitions to act as braces and to prevent sinking if pierced by a shot or accidentally. Another is in the form of a decked canoe, consisting of a timber frame covered with sheetcopper, and formed in two distinct parts, which are locked together for use and dislocated for transportation, and also divided into air-tight chambers.
- n pontoon Nautical, a lighter; a low flat vessel resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, chiefly in the Mediterranean.
- n pontoon In hydraulic engineering: A water-tight structure or frame placed beneath a submerged vessel and then filled with air to assist in refloating the vessel.
- n pontoon A water-tight structure which is sunk by filling with water and raised by pumping it out, used to close a sluiceway or entrance to a dock. Also spelled ponton.
- n pontoon In anatomy, a loop or knuckle of the small intestine: so called from the way it appears to float in the abdominal cavity. See the quotation under mesentery.
- n pontoon In brewing, one of the cleansing-rounds or cleansing-squares used for clarifying ale.
- n pontoon Same as catamaran, 4.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- n Pontoon pon-tōōn′ a flat kind of boat used in forming a bridge for the passage of an army: a bridge of boats: a lighter or barge used for loading or unloading ships—also Pon′ton
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Quotations
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“Imagination is the pontoon bridge making way for the timid feet of reason.”
Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
F. ponton,cf. It. pontone,), from L. ponto, -onis, fr. pons, pontis, a bridge, perhaps originally, a way, path: cf. Gr. path, Skr. path, pathi, panthan,. Cf. Punt a boat
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
Fr. ponton—L. pons, a bridge.
Usage
In literature:
Their specialty was laying and removing pontoon bridges.
"War from the Inside" by Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock
It had neither wheels nor pontoons, and it traveled with unbelievable speed.
"Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930" by Various
Then he touched a button and the pontoons were drawn up into the undercarriage of the craft.
"Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930" by Various
Our pontoons were now laid in quietness to the city; and about three miles below General Franklin laid his pontoons without opposition.
"Three Years in the Federal Cavalry" by Willard Glazier
The two branches of the Nile are to be crossed by a pontoon bridge.
"The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852" by Various
The Sky Wagon had been equipped with pontoons for that very purpose.
"The Wailing Octopus" by Harold Leland Goodwin
The Sky Wagon had, until recently, been equipped with pontoons for water landing.
"The Blue Ghost Mystery" by Harold Leland Goodwin
The Mackerel Brigade grows hoary with antiquity, and the capture of the Southern Confederacy is still delayed for the want of pontoons.
"The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 3" by Robert H. Newell
At Berlin we crossed the Potomac on a pontoon bridge.
"History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers" by B. F. Blakeslee
Within the fortifications was the pontoon bridge, which the imperial army had formed after having burnt the great bridge in January.
"Hungarian Sketches in Peace and War" by Mór Jókai
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In poetry:
They beat us at ALLAGA-ZOOTA,
But we beat 'em at Pontoon and Banker;
We beat 'em at Codham, Shove-ha'p'ny and Darts,
And we beat 'em at Crown-an'-Anchor !
But we beat 'em at Pontoon and Banker;
We beat 'em at Codham, Shove-ha'p'ny and Darts,
And we beat 'em at Crown-an'-Anchor !
"The Bugle Calls? (Rat-a-tat! Plonk! Plonk!)" by T W Connor
What does it matter if rock cakes rock
And pineapples fly in the air
'Cos at death I shall cheerfully cry, "I'm sticking."
But he'll say 'Pontoons only, Devil-May Care.'
And pineapples fly in the air
'Cos at death I shall cheerfully cry, "I'm sticking."
But he'll say 'Pontoons only, Devil-May Care.'
"Devil May Not Care" by Billy Bennett
In news:
Little Big Town's ' Pontoon ' – Unplugged.
Check out the unplugged version of their latest hit ' Pontoon .
Check out the new song from Little Big Town called Pontoon .
Workers watch carefully as the first of the new 520 bridge pontoons is squeezed through the Ballard Locks as it makes its way to Lake Washington on Saturday, August 11, 2012.
It is the first of 77 pontoons of different sizes that will be used to build the floating span across Lake Washington.
The number one song in country music according to Mediabase for the week of September 3, 2012 is Little Big Town Pontoon .
Good News in Pontoon .
An Avalon Pontoon Boat complete with Trailer.
When testing the security of the pontoons , one crew member stated, "We could charge for an amusement ride.".
Little Big Town's " Pontoon " Is Platinum.
Little Big Town's " Pontoon " has reached platinum status, selling more than one million copies.
Look Who's Joined The Pontoon Party.
Watch Little Big Town's " Pontoon " Video.
Kandiyohi County Sheriff Dan Hartog said a pontoon driven by a 75-year-old Minnetonka woman struck the bot as he knee boarded behind a boat driven by his father.
Little Big Town's ' Pontoon ' Gets a Country All-Sta.
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