buoy

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English boy, boye, from Middle Dutch boeye (“float, buoy”), from Old French boue (“piece of wood or cork that floats above an anchor to indicate where it is anchored”) (modern French bouée), ultimately from Frankish *baukn (“beacon”). Doublet of beacon. Same root as English bon in bonfire. Alternatively, and perhaps less likely (due to the unexplained shift in meaning), from Middle Dutch boeye (“shackle, fetter”), from Old French buie (“fetter, chain”), from Latin boia (“a (leather) collar, band, fetter”), from Ancient Greek βόεος (bóeos), βόειος (bóeios, “of ox-hide”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Noun sense 2 was coined by American linguist Scott K. Lindell in 2003. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, Canada, General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈbɔɪ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbu.i/, /ˈbɔɪ/ (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈbwɔɪ/ Rhymes: -ɔɪ, -uːi Homophone: boy (most accents) === Noun === buoy (plural buoys) (nautical) A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes A lifebuoy; a life preserver. (linguistics, sign language) A sign where the non-dominant hand is held in a stationary configuration as a landmark for meaning associations with the dominant hand. [2003] ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === buoy (third-person singular simple present buoys, present participle buoying, simple past and past participle buoyed) (transitive) To keep afloat or aloft; used with up. (transitive) To support or maintain at a high level. (transitive) To mark with a buoy. to buoy an anchor; to buoy or buoy off a channel To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === Scott K. Liddell (2003), Grammar, Gesture, and Meaning in American Sign Language‎[6], Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISBN === Further reading === “buoy”, in Collins English Dictionary. “buoy, n,v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “buoy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. “buoy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. “buoy”, in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2026 === Anagrams === Oyub, bouy, buyo