aqualung

British  

/ ˈækwəˌlʌŋ /

noun

1. breathing apparatus used by divers, etc, consisting of a mouthpiece attached to air cylinders strapped to the back

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Explanation

If your life's ambition is to live underwater like a mermaid, you'd better get practicing on how to use an aqualung, an underwater breathing system. An aqualung is a kind of diving equipment that lets you breathe under water. It's an air tank strapped to your back plus a mouthpiece that lets you breathe in that air. Its name was the brand name of the first ever underwater breathing apparatus, what we now call scuba equipment. There have been lots of developments in scuba diving since then, but many of them are based on the aqualung.

Example Sentences

In The Silent World, a French navy captain named Jacques-Yves Cousteau, inventor of the "aqualung," describes his underwater adventures with a scientist's care and a poet's feeling.

From Time Magazine Archive

At ten fathoms, with a tank of oxygen on her back and her teeth clamped on an aqualung, Jane is not at her best.

From Time Magazine Archive

They launched floats, placed aqualung mouthpieces on top of their masks, and swam parallel to the beach.

From The Wailing Octopus by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)

Replacing aqualung tubes with snorkels, they swam on the surface, faces down, alert for sharks.

From The Wailing Octopus by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)

But when Barby examined the aqualung tanks distastefully and demanded that Rick paint them to match the new suits, both boys put their feet down emphatically.

From The Electronic Mind Reader by Blaine, John