GONDOLA

noun Etymology: Italian dialect (Venetian), probably from Middle Greek kontoura small vessel Date: 1549 a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with a high prow and stern used on the canals of Venice, a heavy flat-bottomed boat used on New England rivers and on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, a railroad car with no top, a flat bottom, and fixed sides that is used chiefly for hauling heavy bulk commodities, 4. an elongated car attached to the underside of an airship, an often spherical airtight enclosure suspended from a balloon for carrying passengers or instruments, an enclosed car suspended from a cable and used for transporting passengers