buoy

Meaning

Noun

1. A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes
2. A life-buoy; a life preserver.

Verb

1. To keep afloat or aloft; used with up.
2. To support or maintain at a high level.
3. To mark with a buoy.
4. To maintain or enhance enthusiasm or confidence; to lift the spirits of.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɔɪ/

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.
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”).