Dictionary Home » Webster's New World College Dictionary » gondola

gondola

gondola definition

gon·dola (gän′dō lə, -də-; often gän dō′lə, gən-)

noun

a long, narrow boat for a few passengers used on the canals of Venice, having a high, pointed prow and stern and propelled by a single long oar at the stern
☆ a flat-bottomed river barge
☆ a railroad freight car with no top and, often, with low sides
also gondola car
☆ a cabin suspended under an airship or balloon, for holding the motors, instruments, passengers, etc.
☆ a car suspended from and moved along a cable, for holding passengers

Etymology: It (Venetian) < Rhaeto-Romanic (dial.) gondolá, to rock

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.