Pontoon
Pontoon , noun
[French ponton (compare Italian pontone), from Latin ponto, -onis, from pons, pontis, a bridge, perhaps originally, a way, path: compare Greek {not transcribed} path, Sanskrit path, pathi, panthan. Compare Punt a boat.]
1.
(Military) A wooden flat-bottomed boat, a metallic cylinder, or a frame covered with canvas, India rubber, etc., forming a portable float, used in building bridges quickly for the passage of troops.
2.
(Nautical) A low, flat vessel, resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., chiefly in the Mediterranean; a lighter.
Collocations (2)
Pontoon bridge , a bridge formed with pontoons.
Pontoon train , the carriages of the pontoons, and the materials they carry for making a pontoon bridge.
The French spelling ponton often appears in scientific works, but pontoon is more common form.