Wiktionary

caisson

See also: Caisson

English

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WOTD – 9 June 2013, 9 June 2014, 9 June 2015
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Etymology

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Borrowed from French caisson. Doublet of cassone and cajón.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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caisson (plural caissons)

  2. (engineering) A (permanent) enclosure from which water can be expelled, in order to give access to underwater areas for engineering works etc.
    Coordinate terms: cofferdam, coffer
    • 1946 January and February, “Notes and News: Demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 53:
      During the construction of the viaduct, the sinking of the caissons in the river bed caused much difficulty to the engineer and contractors, as a bed of running sand was encountered; in consequence, the expenditure for these foundations proved almost prohibitive.
    • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 213:
      Caissons were enclosed dry chambers built on river beds to facilitate the construction of bridge piers.
  4. (engineering) A structure with similar function that is temporary.
    Synonyms: cofferdam, coffer
  6. (architecture) A coffer (sunken panel).
  8. The gate across the entrance to a drydock.
  10. (nautical) A floating tank that can be submerged, attached to an underwater object and then pumped out to lift the object by buoyancy.
    Synonyms: camel, sea camel
    Near-synonym: pontoon
  12. (military) A two-wheeled, horse-drawn military vehicle used to carry ammunition (and a coffin at funerals).
    Near-synonym: limber
    • 1908, Edmund Louis Gruber, “The Caissons Go Rolling Along”:
      Over hill, over dale / As we hit the dusty trail, / And those caissons go rolling along.
  14. (military) A large box to hold ammunition.
  16. (military) A chest filled with explosive materials, used like a mine.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Ross, Alan S. C. (1970), “caisson”, in How to pronounce it‎[1], London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 56.

Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Old Occitan caisson, from caissa. By surface analysis, caisse +‎ -on.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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caisson m (plural caissons)

  1. box
  2. (architecture) coffer
  3. (military) caisson (military vehicle)
  4. (engineering) caisson (structure to exclude water)

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → English: caisson
  • → Romanian: cheson
  • → Turkish: keson

See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Indonesian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from French caisson (“caisson”), from Old Occitan caisson, caissa.

Noun

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caisson (plural caisson-caisson)

  1. (engineering) caisson: an enclosure from which water can be expelled, in order to give access to underwater areas for engineering works etc
  2. transport cart

Further reading

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