I.
archaic
past of reave
II. ˈraft, ˈraa(ə)ft, ˈraift, ˈrȧft noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rafte, from Old Norse raptr rafter — more at rafter
1. archaic : rafter , spar
2.
a. : a collection of usually logs or timber fastened together for transportation by floating
great rafts of logs … for the English market — American Guide Series: Vermont
b. : a flat structure for support or conveyance (as of people or cargo) on a body of water
floating down the river on a raft
rubber rafts filled with men — K.M.Dodson
c. : a floating platform ; especially : one used by swimmers : float 4c(1)
in the park pool swimming out to the raft — Donald Windham
d. : a rubber lifesaving apparatus that is inflated for use usually in emergency landings of airplanes on water
the raft resembled an overlarge bedroll — E.K.Gann
get out fast and inflate the raft — Howard Hunt
3.
a. : a mass of floating logs, driftwood, or debris that impedes or blocks navigation of a watercourse
the raft covered the stream from shore to shore — American Guide Series: Arkansas
b. : a floating cohesive mass (as of seaweed or insect eggs)
c. : an aggregation of waterfowl (as ducks) resting on the water
estuaries … where rafts of wildfowl lie offshore — N.C.Stevenson
4. : mat 3d
raft foundation
raft construction
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to transport (as logs or timber) in the form of a raft by floating
rafted his logs down the lakes — American Guide Series: Michigan
b. : to convey (as people or cargo) on or by means of a raft
rafted them across the stream
freight rafted down the river — American Guide Series: Louisiana
2. : to make into a raft
raft the logs at hand
3. : to go along or across (a watercourse) on a raft
raft a river
4. : to transport (land-derived debris, boulders, or silt) embedded in floating ice or in masses of floating organic material (as seaweed) to places not reached by the currents of rivers, lakes, or seas
intransitive verb
1. : to manage a raft : travel by raft
rafting across rivers — Jack Kelsey
2. : rafter
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by raft (II) mass of logs) of raff (I)
: a large and often motley collection (as of people or things) : a great amount or number : lot , slew
a raft of shiftless brothers and sisters — W.L.Gresham
had a raft of patients — Carson McCullers
assembled a raft of facts and figures — New Yorker
sold a raft of bathtubs — advt