floaty

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English

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WOTD – 27 April 2024

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From float (noun or verb) +‎ -y (suffix meaning ‘inclined to’ forming adjectives).[1] Compare Middle English floti, floty (“of a place: well supplied with water”).[2]

Adjective

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floaty (comparative floatier, superlative floatiest)

  1. Tending to float on a liquid or to rise in air or a gas; buoyant.
    • 1624, Iohn Smith, “The Generall Historie of the Bermudas, Now Called the Summer Iles, from Their Beginning in the Yeere of Our Lord 1593. to This Present 1624. with Their Proceedings, Accidents and Present Estate. [The Gouernment of Captaine Nathaniel Butler.]”, in The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: […], London: […] I[ohn] D[awson] and I[ohn] H[aviland] for Michael Sparkes, →OCLC, book 5; reprinted in The Generall Historie of Virginia, [...] (Bibliotheca Americana), Cleveland, Oh.: The World Publishing Company, 1966, →OCLC, page 194:
      [S]ome fevv buttes of beare being flotie they got, vvhich though it had lien ſix moneths vnder vvater vvas very good, […]
    • 1880 April, “The University Boat-race”, in Baily’s Monthly Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume XXXV, number 242, London: A. H. Baily & Co., […], →OCLC, page 231:
      The Oxonians, too, though, judging by avoirdupois, they were big enough for the floatiest outrigger, preferred the old friend in which they had won the 'Varsity in 1878 and 'suffered' last year.
    • 1998 September, Annie Garrett, After You […], New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 24:
      There was no going back to being Mommy Belle, […] the woman who made the "floatiest" matzoh balls on the face of the earth.
    • 2006, David Foster Wallace, “Federer both Flesh and Not”, in Both Flesh and Not, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, published November 2012, →ISBN, page 26:
      [Roger] Federer slices it right back down the same line, slow and floaty with backspin, making [Rafael] Nadal return to the same spot. Nadal slices the ball right back—three shots now all down the same line—and Federer slices the ball to the same spot yet again, this one even slower and floatier, […]
    • 2007 September, “One-ski Quiver Expert”, in Marc Peruzzi, editor, Skiing, Boulder, Colo.: Bonnier Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 73, column 2:
      If you're more into powder, try the Monster 82 [a type of ski]; it's a bit floatier and more stable.
    1. (nautical, archaic) Of a ship: having a shallow draft (the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull), and thus drawing less (that is, floating higher in) water.
      • a. 1610 (date written), Francis Vere, “The Calis-journey”, in William Dillingham, editor, The Commentaries of Sr. Francis Vere, Being Diverse Pieces of Service, wherein He had Command, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] John Field, printer to the famous University [of Cambridge], published 1657, →OCLC, page 28:
        I then told my Lord of Eſſex that mine vvas a floaty ſhip and vvell appointed for that ſervice; […]
      • a. 1612 November 16 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Walter Raleigh, “[Sir Walter Raleigh’s Letters.] Sr. Walter Raleigh's Letter to Prince Henry, Touching the Model of a Ship.”, in Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh; […], London: […] William Sheares […], published 1661, →OCLC, page 253:
        The extream length of a Ship makes her unapt to ſtay, eſpecially if ſhe be floatie and vvant ſharpneſſe of vvay forvvard.
      • 1672 April 15 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Nicholas A[ndrew] M[artin] Rodger, quoting John Narbrough, “Great Frigates: Ships 1649–1714”, in The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815, Allen Lane in association with the National Maritime Museum, published 2014, →ISBN, page 218:
        Girdling the ship would make her one of the finest ships in the whole universe, for it would make her much more floatier and carry her guns higher, and she would bear the better sail and be a better and securer ship to receive shot, and I believe it will not prejudice her sailing.
      • 1729 March 23 (Gregorian calendar), George Collcott, Robert Jones, The Joint and Separate Account or Narrative of George Collcott, and Robert Jones, Mariners, Relating to what Passed at Their Several Meetings with Others, about the Affair of Dunkirk, [London]: [Nathaniel Rich], →OCLC, page 2:
        [H]e had been concerned in a Collier, but did not care to be concerned in a Ship that drevv ſo much VVater as Fourteen Foot and a half; but if he vvould buy a Floaty Ship, ſuch an one as he could recommend to him at Yarmouth, he vvould be concerned vvith him, and go 100 l. vvith him, and begin the Trade vvith him aſſoon as he pleaſed.
      • 1775 October 10, Molyneux Shuldham, “European Theatre, Aug. 11, 1775 – Oct. 31, 1775 [Rear Admiral Molyneux Shuldham to Philip Stephens]”, in William Bell Clark, editor, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, volume 2, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1966, →OCLC, page 754:
        The reason of my particularizing, and making choice of the Vigilant is, that she is the most Floaty Ship of her Class in this Harbour.
  2. (figurative)
    1. Of music: light and relaxing.
      • 2005 September 17, Adam Fresco, “Definitely knot one for the wimps”, in The Times‎[1], London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-03-30:
        All the floaty music in the world could not disguise my grunts [during a massage] as I clenched my teeth and curled my toes to fight the pain.
      • 2006, Charles Kim, “Suspensions and Bass Runs”, in Teach Yourself Visually Guitar, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, page 133:
        Notice that this chord seems to be floating up in the air. If you strum Dsus2 instead of D, you can make your chord seem more haunting or drifting. […] This chord [Dsus4] has an even floatier feel than Dsus2 and is out of tune for other chords.
    2. Of an object: light and flimsy or soft; specifically, of a dress: lightweight, so as to rise away from the body when the wearer is moving.
      Synonym: gossamer
      • 1976, Sylvia Plath, “The Bed Book”, in The It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit and Other Stories, London: Faber & Faber, published 2014, →ISBN, page 78:
        O here is a Bed / Shrinkproofer than that, / A floatier, boatier / Bed than that!
      • 2011, Jenny Colgan, chapter 1, in Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, London: Sphere Books, published 2012, →ISBN, page 6:
        But deep down she had a passion for kitchen comforts— […] for a perfectly piped butter icing on top of the highest, lightest, floatiest lemon cupcake.
      • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], “Thwack!”, in Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN, page 306:
        Flip had spent all morning trimming and styling her hair so it looked as much like her nephew’s as possible. The lady had put on her longest, floatiest dress too, in the hope that the man would be able to fit into it.
      • 2020, Kate Sekules, “How”, in Mend! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 142:
        Georgette, organza, voile, chiffon […] The floatiest, thinnest fabrics represent obvious mend hazards. Finest needles needed.
    3. Of a person: feeling calm, dreamy, happy, etc., as if floating in the air.
      • 1851 March 22, “The Foreign Country at Home. IV. Abergavenny to Swansea.”, in Leigh Hunt, editor, Leigh Hunt’s Journal; a Miscellany for the Cultivation of the Memorable, the Progressive, and the Beautiful, volume I, number 16, London: […] Stewart & Murray, […], →OCLC, page 255:
        [A]s you stand on the steps of the Castle Green in this strange place, you feel quite floaty. This you are told is the scene of the Merthyr riots; and you feel still floatier as you body forth before your eyes a picture like the following— […]
      • 2003, Libby Willis, “Fun and Games”, in Happiness: The Feel-good Factor, Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Publishing, →ISBN, page 52:
        Surprise! Surprise! When the lights flick on in a darkened room and grinning friends spring from behind the sofa, joy jumps up like a jack-in-the-box. We feel bubblier than any vintage champagne, floatier than a bunch of balloons.
    4. Of speech or writing: overly complicated or elaborate; flowery, grandiloquent.
      • 2013, Adam Piette, “Modernist Victorianism”, in Matthew Bevis, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Poetry, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part II (Literary Landscapes), page 273:
        [William Butler] Yeats divests himself of his floatier fin-de-siècle rhetoric to discover a hard plain speech both properly twentieth century and pre-nineteenth century.
Derived terms
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Translations
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of a dress: lightweight, so as to rise away from the body when the wearer is moving — see lightweight

Etymology 2

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From float (noun) +‎ -y (suffix forming diminutive nouns).

Noun

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floaty (plural floaties) (informal)

  1. A particle of food, etc., found floating in liquid.
    • 1945 September 24, “Memos to Mama from Baby and Swan [advertisement]”, in Henry R[obinson] Luce, editor, Life, volume 19, number 13, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 42:
      Why don't you stop slathering millions of things on your face, and lather up with my gentle Swan? It's the loveliest, pure, mild floatie—why, it'll get you clean as a baby!
      Referring to a bar of soap which floats.
    • 2002, Trena Cole, “The Baby Factory”, in Charred Souls: A Story of Recreational Child Abuse, Indianapolis, Ind.: Oberpark Publishing, →ISBN, page 29:
      I have always loved the way he just walks up and feels free to drink out my glass or bottle of water. I admit, when he was a baby I tried to give him his own sippy cup and avoid the little ‘floaties’ that little ones leave in your drink. But if there was no sippy cup available, I fished out the floaties and drank it anyway.
    • 2011, Judy Reiser, “Assorted Nuts”, in Admit It, You’re Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies, and Irrational Behavior, New York, N.Y.: Katalin Media, →ISBN:
      If I dip my Oreos into milk, once the Oreos are gone I can't drink the milk with the floaties in it no matter how much milk is left.
    • 2012, Michael Thomas, Joy Thomas, The Quest For The Cold Soda: A Couple’s Journey on the Appalachian Trail, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 163:
      Ha, try backpacking sometime mister, we drink water that has dirt in it … I mean literally there is dirt in our water bladders (or other floaties like leaves) and we drink it no problem!
  2. (chiefly US)
    1. A lilo (inflatable air mattress) or similar object that floats on water and can be lain or sat on.
      • 1998, Debra Shukles, “Weighing in as a Feminist”, in Rosamund Else-Mitchell, Naomi Flutter, editors, Talking Up: Young Women’s Take on Feminism, Melbourne, Vic.: Spinifex Press, →ISBN, page 71:
        I am going to begin with a confession that seems to me to be startling less for its content than for the sheer number of similar stories that I have heard related among so many of my successful women friends. Prevalent as it is, it always surfaces abruptly, bobbing awkwardly as a lone yellow floatie in the public pool of our conversations.
      • 2019, Alyssa Milano, with Debbie Rigaud, chapter 2, in Project Middle School (Hope; 1), New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, →ISBN, page 15:
        My best friend just may be the Florida champ of floatie racing. Or she at least has the Cape Canaveral title. She pushed the flamingo floatie to the opposite end of the pool in record time. I come in a distant second, as usual. This, after my best efforts to use my ginormous floatie to bump her off course, splashing us both.
    2. (swimming) Chiefly in the plural: synonym of armband (“one of a pair of inflatable plastic bands, normally worn on the upper arms, to help the wearer (often a child) float in water and learn to swim”)
      Synonyms: armfloat, water wing
      • 2018 August 8, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “Jason Statham fighting a giant shark should be a lot more fun than The Meg”, in The A.V. Club‎[2], archived from the original on 2023-12-26:
        As an escaped megalodon swims close to a busy beach, we see humanity at its most chompable: chubby kids in floaties, doofuses on pontoons, some dork in a tight Speedo rolling around in one of those big inflatable Zorb balls. But alas, the movie is a gore-free PG-13, and though CGI has long since replaced animatronics as the monster movie's weapon of choice, one thing hasn’t changed: giant killer fish still look like they’re made of rubber.
Alternative forms
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Coordinate terms
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Translations
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References

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  1. ^ “floaty, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “floaty, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “flōtī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
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