floater

Definition

A person who floats.

Etymology

From float + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). Compare Old English flota (“boat, ship", also "sailor, pirate”, literally “floater”), whence Middle English flote (“a fleet of ships", also, "a float, flotation device”).

Example Sentences

• "Great God of VVaters [i.e., Neptune], vvhoſe extended Svvay / Is next to his, vvhom Heav'n and Earth obey: / Let not the Suit of Venus thee diſpleaſe, / Pity the Floaters on th' Ionian Seas."
• "A dock worker saw him floating against a dock pier and called the police. Condition of the body they thought a floater that had been hit by a boat and cut by the prop."
• "'The murdered girl was working for us, for the department.' / 'A floater?' / 'No. Permanent; warranty contract; the lot.'"

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