Float

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /fləʊt/

Definitions

1. To rest or move gently on or near the surface of a liquid without sinking ; a small buoyant object used to support or indicate position ; to present or circulate something, such as shares or ideas, for consideration or use
2. To stay suspended or drift slowly in a fluid or in the air ; a device that floats on water to measure levels or provide support ; to emit or spread something gradually, as in offering stock or spreading rumors
3. To be buoyant on water or air and move lightly ; an instrument or marker kept afloat for monitoring or signaling ; to introduce or disseminate something publicly, like money or proposals, for acceptance or interaction

Etymology: The verb "float" comes from Old English "flotian," meaning to float, and it is a close relative of "flow" and "fleet." Its ancestor stretches back to a Proto-Indo-European root, *plewd-, which carried the sense of floating, swimming or even flying. The same root gave Old English a second noun, "flota," meaning sailor or boat, which passed into Middle English as "flote." That noun is the older source of the sense of a thing that floats, and it shows how closely the idea of drifting on water was once tied to the vessels that rode it. The English verb and its relatives "flow" and "fleet" share this ancient sense of moving easily over or through a medium. "Fleet," now meaning swift, descends from the same family of meanings about speed and motion on water, so the three words are branches of one old trunk.

Synonyms: drift, hover, buoy, glide, waft

Antonyms: sink, submerge