pontoon1
[pon-toon]
- Military. a boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river.
- a float for a derrick, landing stage, etc.
- Nautical. a float for raising a sunken or deeply laden vessel in the water; a camel or caisson.
- a seaplane float.
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Also pon·ton [pon-tn] /ˈpɒn tn/.
Origin of pontoon1
1585–95; < French ponton < Latin pontōn- (stem of pontō) flat-bottomed boat, punt
pontoon2
[pon-toon]
- the card game twenty-one.
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Origin of pontoon2
1915–20; alteration of French vingt-et-un twenty-one
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pontoon
Contemporary Examples
You guard the pontoon bridge with a squad of Iraqi Army soldiers and a single interpreter.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in IraqNathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
While we have not definitively located the video, in one video tanks can be seen crossing a pontoon bridge into Ukraine.
Russia’s Military Is Already in East Ukraine. Will There Be a Full-Scale Invasion?James Miller
August 2, 2014
Historical Examples
The bridge swayed, then caved in, where the pontoon had been struck and was sinking.
Beyond the burning town was the river, crossed now by six pontoon bridges.
The Long RollMary Johnston
I am pleased with you; but look—there comes a lady on our pontoon.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I (of 2)Alexandre Dumas pre
The pontoon wagon was brought up, and unloaded by the side of the river.
In School and OutOliver Optic
The horses were attached to the pontoon wagon, ready for a start.
In School and OutOliver Optic
pontoon1
- a watertight float or vessel used where buoyancy is required in water, as in supporting a bridge, in salvage work, or where a temporary or mobile structure is required in military operations
- (as modifier)a pontoon bridge
- nautical a float, often inflatable, for raising a vessel in the water
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Word Origin
C17: from French ponton, from Latin pontō punt, floating bridge, from pōns bridge
pontoon2
- Also called: (esp US) twenty-one, vingt-et-un a gambling game in which players try to obtain card combinations worth 21 points
- (in this game) the combination of an ace with a ten or court card when dealt to a player as his first two cards
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Word Origin
C20: probably an alteration of French vingt-et-un, literally: twenty-one
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 pontoon
n.
"flat-bottomed boat" (especially one to support a temporary bridge), 1670s, from French pontoon, from Old French ponton (14c.) "bridge, drawbridge, boat-bridge; flat-bottomed boat," from Latin pontonem (nominative ponto) "flat-bottomed boat," from pons "bridge" (see pons). Pontoon bridge is first recorded 1778.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper