Nut \Nut\, n. [OE. nute, note, AS. hnutu; akin to D. noot, G.
nuss, OHG. nuz, Icel. hnot, Sw. n["o]t, Dan. n["o]d.]
1. (Bot.) The fruit of certain trees and shrubs (as of the
almond, walnut, hickory, beech, filbert, etc.), consisting
of a hard and indehiscent shell inclosing a kernel.
2. A perforated block (usually a small piece of metal),
provided with an internal or female screw thread, used on
a bolt, or screw, for tightening or holding something, or
for transmitting motion. See Illust. of lst Bolt.
3. The tumbler of a gunlock. --Knight.
4. (Naut.) A projection on each side of the shank of an
anchor, to secure the stock in place.
Check nut, Jam nut, Lock nut, a nut which is screwed up
tightly against another nut on the same bolt or screw, in
order to prevent accidental unscrewing of the first nut.
Nut buoy. See under Buoy.
Nut coal, screened coal of a size smaller than stove coal
and larger than pea coal; -- called also chestnut coal.
Nut crab (Zo["o]l.), any leucosoid crab of the genus
Ebalia as, Ebalia tuberosa of Europe.
Nut grass (Bot.), a plant of the Sedge family (Cyperus
rotundus, var. Hydra), which has slender rootstocks
bearing small, nutlike tubers, by which the plant
multiplies exceedingly, especially in cotton fields.
Nut lock, a device, as a metal plate bent up at the
corners, to prevent a nut from becoming unscrewed, as by
jarring.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |
Buoy \Buoy\, n. [D. boei buoy, fetter, fr. OF. boie, buie,
chain, fetter, F. bou['e]e a buoy, from L. boia. ``Boiae
genus vinculorum tam ferreae quam ligneae.'' --Festus. So
called because chained to its place.]
(Naut.)
A float; esp. a floating object moored to the bottom, to mark
a channel or to point out the position of something beneath
the water, as an anchor, shoal, rock, etc.
Anchor buoy, a buoy attached to, or marking the position
of, an anchor.
Bell buoy, a large buoy on which a bell is mounted, to be
rung by the motion of the waves.
Breeches buoy. See under Breeches.
Cable buoy, an empty cask employed to buoy up the cable in
rocky anchorage.
Can buoy, a hollow buoy made of sheet or boiler iron,
usually conical or pear-shaped.
Life buoy, a float intended to support persons who have
fallen into the water, until a boat can be dispatched to
save them.
Nut or Nun buoy, a buoy large in the middle, and tapering
nearly to a point at each end.
To stream the buoy, to let the anchor buoy fall by the
ship's side into the water, before letting go the anchor.
Whistling buoy, a buoy fitted with a whistle that is blown
by the action of the waves.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |