water wings
5
1.9
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər wɪŋz/
:
alitas flotantes
- The kids loved practicing their swimming while wearing water wings to stay afloat.
- wear water wings
- bring your water wings
- put on her water wings
Examples
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Families with small children flapping water wings in the shallows hear it; so do strollers along the beach and explorers picking their way through the scrub on the dunes.
Academic text (2004) -
Get your water wings on.
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Blow up your water wings, girls.
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Well, I can't very well leave without a pair of water wings, can I?
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Yeah, and I can't swim good without my water wings, you know.
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She swims out to the deep end, kicking her way across the top of the water, back and forth, like she can't help that she's got water wings.
Fiction book (1997) -
Before they jumped into the pool, their mother reminded them to put on their water wings.
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He felt more confident in the water with his water wings securely fastened around his arms.
Synonyms
1
4.7
An inflatable band worn on the arms to help a person float in water
How Buoyant
Surface Forms
Morphology
water + wings
The meaning of 'water wings' is directly derivable from 'water' (in/for use in water) + 'wings' (attachments that give support or buoyancy); together they signal flotation aids worn in water. This is a compositional noun‑noun compound built from frequent words and follows an obvious metaphorical extension that most B1 learners would infer without prior exposure.
Etymology
Water wings comes from the image of small, air-filled wings on a child's arms in the water. Because those arm 'wings' help a child 'stay afloat' while learning to swim, the term now means the inflatable arm bands used to help children in the pool.