Raft
Raft (rȧft) , imperfect and past participle
Raft , noun
[Originally, a rafter, spar, and from Icelandic raptr a rafter; akin to Danish raft, Prov. German raff a rafter, spar; compare Old High German rāfo, rāvo, a beam, rafter, Icelandic rāf roof. Compare Rafter, n.]
1.
A collection of logs, boards, pieces of timber, or the like, fastened together, either for their own collective conveyance on the water, or to serve as a support in conveying other things; a float.
2.
A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. (such as is formed in some Western rivers of the United States), which obstructs navigation. [United States]
3.
A large collection of people or things taken indiscriminately. [Slang, United States]
A whole raft of folks.
Collocations (3)
Raft bridge , (a) A bridge whose points of support are rafts (b) A bridge that consists of floating timbers fastened together.
Raft duck (Zoology) , (a) The bluebill, or greater scaup duck; -- called also flock duck. See Scaup. (b) The redhead.
Raft port (Nautical) , a large, square port in a vessel's side for loading or unloading timber or other bulky articles; a timber or lumber port.
Raft , transitive verb
To transport on a raft, or in the form of a raft; to make into a raft; as, to raft timber.