/ rɑːft; NAmE ræft/ noun
1.
a flat structure made of pieces of wood tied together and used as a boat or floating platform
2.
a small boat made of rubber or plastic that is filled with air :
an inflatable raft
3.
[ usually sing. ] raft of sth ( informal ) a large number or amount of sth :
a whole raft of new proposals
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WORD ORIGIN
senses 1 to 2 late Middle English (in the sense beam, rafter ): from Old Norse raptr rafter.
sense 3 mid 19th cent.: alteration of dialect raff abundance (perhaps of Scandinavian origin), by association with raft in the sense floating mass .