caisson

Borrowed from French caisson, from Italian cassone.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪs(ə)n/
• (US) IPA^(key): [ˈkeɪsɑn], [ˈkeɪsn̩]

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.
   • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, p. 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, “The Caissons Go Rolling Along”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     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.

• caisson disease

• Caisons, assicon, casinos, cassino, cassoni

From Old Occitan caisson, from caissa; synchronically analysable as caisse +‎ -on.

• IPA^(key): /kɛ.sɔ̃/

caisson m (plural caissons)

1. box

• boîte f

• “caisson” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• casinos, casions