buoy

Meanings

Plural: buoys

Noun

bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards
A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
A lifebuoy; a life preserver.
A sign where the non-dominant hand is held in a stationary configuration as a landmark for meaning associations with the dominant hand.

Verb

float on the surface of water
keep afloat
- "The life vest buoyed him up"
mark with a buoy
To keep afloat or aloft; used with up.
To support or maintain at a high level.
To mark with a buoy.
To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English boy, boye, from Middle Dutch boeye (“float, buoy”), from Old French boue (“piece of wood or cork that floats above an anchor to indicate where it is anchored”) (modern French bouée), ultimately from Frankish *baukn (“beacon”). Doublet of beacon. Same root as English bon in bonfire.
Alternatively, and perhaps less likely (due to the unexplained shift in meaning), from Middle Dutch boeye (“shackle, fetter”), from Old French buie (“fetter, chain”), from Latin boia (“a (leather) collar, band, fetter”), from Ancient Greek βόεος (bóeos), βόειος (bóeios, “of ox-hide”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”).
Sense 2 was coined by American linguist Scott K. Lindell in 2003.

Synonyms

buoy up

Scrabble Score: 9

buoy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
buoy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
buoy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

buoy is a valid Words With Friends word