caisson

See also: Caisson

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French caisson. Doublet of cassone and cajón.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.sən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.sɑn/, /ˈkeɪ.sən/
• Rhymes: -eɪsən, (US) -eɪsɑn

Noun

caisson (plural caissons)

1. (engineering) An enclosure from which water can be expelled, in order to give access to underwater areas for engineering works etc.
   • 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.

2. The gate across the entrance to a dry dock.
3. (nautical) A floating tank that can be submerged, attached to an underwater object and then pumped out to lift the object by buoyancy; a camel.
4. (military) A two-wheeled, horse-drawn military vehicle used to carry ammunition (and a coffin at funerals).
   • 1908, Edmund Louis Gruber (lyrics and music), “The Caissons Go Rolling Along”:

     Over hill, over dale / As we hit the dusty trail, / And those caissons go rolling along.

5. (military) A large box to hold ammunition.
6. (military) A chest filled with explosive materials, used like a mine.
7. (architecture) A coffer.

Coordinate terms

• cofferdam, a similar temporary structure

Derived terms

• caisson disease

Translations

enclosure from which water can be expelled

• Armenian: սուզարկղ (hy) (suzarkġ)
• Bulgarian: кесон m (keson)
• Finnish: kasuuni (fi)
• German: Senkkasten m, Caisson m
• Italian: cassone (it) m, tura (it) f
• Russian: кессон (ru) (kesson)
• Swedish: kassun (sv) c

gate across the entrance to a dry dock

• Finnish: sulkuportti
• Russian: батопорт (ru) (batoport), плавучий затво́р (plavučij zatvór)

floating tank that can be submerged

• Bulgarian: парашут (bg) m (parašut)
• Russian: понтон (ru) (ponton)

two-wheeled horse-drawn military vehicle

• Irish: vaigín armlóin m

large box of ammunition

• Bulgarian: ракла (bg) f (rakla)
• Russian: зарядный я́щик (ru) (zarjadnyj jáščik)
• Swedish: ammunitionskista

architecture: coffer — see coffer

Anagrams

• Caisons, assicon, casinos, cassino, cassoni

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɛ.sɔ̃/, /ke.sɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

caisson m (plural caissons)

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

Derived terms

• caisson hyperbare
• maladie des caissons

 

Descendants

• → English: caisson
• → Turkish: keson

See also

• boîte f

Further reading

• “caisson”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• casinos, casions