boa

buoy; boa constrictor; feather boa

noun BOH-ah Rare

Origin: From Spanish/Portuguese boa, from Latin boa (water snake).

Usage Note

Boa covers several senses: a nautical buoy (la boa di segnalazione, feminine), the boa constrictor snake (usually masculine, il boa), and the feather boa. Context disambiguates. The buoy sense is the most common.

Examples

"La boa rossa indica il canale navigabile."

Natural Translation

The red buoy marks the navigable channel.

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