Floating \Float"ing\, a.
1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a
wreck; floating motes in the air.
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2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating
ribs in man and some other animals.
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3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as,
floating capital; a floating debt.
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Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been
withdrawn in great masses from the island.
--Macaulay.
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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.
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Dock \Dock\, n. [Akin to D. dok; of uncertain origin; cf. LL.
doga ditch, L. doga ditch, L. doga sort of vessel, Gr. ?
receptacle, fr. ? to receive.]
1. An artificial basin or an inclosure in connection with a
harbor or river, -- used for the reception of vessels, and
provided with gates for keeping in or shutting out the
tide.
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2. The slip or water way extending between two piers or
projecting wharves, for the reception of ships; --
sometimes including the piers themselves; as, to be down
on the dock.
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3. The place in court where a criminal or accused person
stands.
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Balance dock, a kind of floating dock which is kept level
by pumping water out of, or letting it into, the
compartments of side chambers.
Dry dock, a dock from which the water may be shut or pumped
out, especially, one in the form of a chamber having walls
and floor, often of masonry and communicating with deep
water, but having appliances for excluding it; -- used in
constructing or repairing ships. The name includes
structures used for the examination, repairing, or
building of vessels, as graving docks, floating docks,
hydraulic docks, etc.
Floating dock, a dock which is made to become buoyant, and,
by floating, to lift a vessel out of water.
Graving dock, a dock for holding a ship for graving or
cleaning the bottom, etc.
Hydraulic dock, a dock in which a vessel is raised clear of
the water by hydraulic presses.
Naval dock, a dock connected with which are naval stores,
materials, and all conveniences for the construction and
repair of ships.
Sectional dock, a form of floating dock made in separate
sections or caissons.
Slip dock, a dock having a sloping floor that extends from
deep water to above high-water mark, and upon which is a
railway on which runs a cradle carrying the ship.
Wet dock, a dock where the water is shut in, and kept at a
given level, to facilitate the loading and unloading of
ships; -- also sometimes used as a place of safety; a
basin.
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