Nautical. a distinctively shaped and marked float, sometimes carrying a signal or signals, anchored to mark a channel, anchorage, navigational hazard, etc., or to provide a mooring place away from the shore.
a distinctively shaped and coloured float, anchored to the bottom, for designating moorings, navigable channels, or obstructions in a body of waterSee also life buoy
verb
(tr usually foll by up) to prevent from sinkingthe belt buoyed him up
(tr usually foll by up) to raise the spirits of; hearten
(tr)nauticalto mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys
(intr)to rise to the surface
Word Origin for buoy
C13: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch boeie, boeye; see beacon
late 13c., perhaps from either Old French buie or Middle Dutch boeye, both from West Germanic *baukna "beacon, signal" (see beacon). OED, however, supports Middle Dutch boeie, or Old French boie "fetter, chain" (see boy), "because of its being fettered to a spot."
buoy
v.
late 16c., "to mark with a buoy," from buoy (n.). Meaning "rise up, lift, sustain" is from c.1600, perhaps influenced by Spanish boyar "to float," ultimately from the same source. In the figurative sense (of hopes, spirits, etc.) it is recorded from 1640s. Related: Buoyed; buoying.
