gondola
[ gon-dl-uh or especially for 1, gon-doh-luh ]
/ ˈgɒn dl ə or especially for 1, gɒnˈdoʊ lə /
noun
Nearby words
goncourt, goncourt, edmond louis antoine huot de, gond, gondar, gondi, gondola, gondola back, gondoletta, gondolier, gondomar, gondwana
Origin of gondola
1540–50; < Italian < Venetian, probably < Medieval Greek kontoúra small boat used in coastal navigation, noun use of feminine of kóntouros short, clipped, literally, dock-tailed, equivalent to Late Greek kont(ós), kond(ós) short + Greek -ouros -tailed, adj. derivative of ourá tail
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gondola
British Dictionary definitions for gondola
gondola
/ (ˈɡɒndələ) /
noun
a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with a high ornamented stem and a platform at the stern where an oarsman stands and propels the boat by sculling or punting: traditionally used on the canals of Venice
- a car or cabin suspended from an airship or balloon
- a moving cabin suspended from a cable across a valley, etc
a flat-bottomed barge used on canals and rivers of the US as far west as the Mississippi
US and Canadian a low open flat-bottomed railway goods wagon
a set of island shelves in a self-service shop: used for displaying goods
Canadian a broadcasting booth built close to the roof over an ice-hockey arena, used by commentators
Word Origin for gondola
C16: from Italian (Venetian dialect), from Medieval Latin gondula, perhaps ultimately from Greek kondu drinking vessel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gondola
gondola
1540s, from Italian (Venetian) gondola, earlier in English as goundel, from Old Italian gondula, of unknown origin; perhaps from Rhaeto-Romanic dialectal gondola "roll, rock," or perhaps a diminutive of gonda, name of a kind of boat. Meaning "cabin of an airship" is 1896, though it was used hypothetically in 1881 in a prediction piece titled "300 Years Hence":
You step into an aerial gondola ... and are at once borne upwards.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper