BUOY

buoy. Buoy, n. a floating cask or light piece of wood fastened over an anchor or shoal water for a direction, or to bear a cable

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Buoy (�), n. [[D. boei buoy, fetter, fr. OF. boie, buie, chain, fetter, F. bouée a buoy, from L. boia. “Boiae genus vinculorum tam ferreae quam ligneae.” Festus. So called because chained to its place.]] (Naut.) A float; esp. a floating object moored to the bottom, to mark a channel or to point out the position of something beneath the water, as an anchor, shoal, rock, etc. Anchor buoy, a buoy attached to, or marking the position of, an anchor. — Bell buoy, a large buoy on which a bell is mounted, to be rung by the motion of the waves. — Breeches buoy. See under Breeches. — Cable buoy, an empty cask employed to buoy up the cable in rocky anchorage. — Can buoy, a hollow buoy made of sheet or boiler iron, usually conical or pear-shaped. — Life buoy, a float intended to support persons who have fallen into the water, until a boat can be dispatched to save them. — Nut or Nun buoy, a buoy large in the middle, and tapering nearly to a point at each end. — To stream the buoy, to let the anchor buoy fall by the ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor. — Whistling buoy, a buoy fitted with a whistle that is blown by the action of the waves.