nun buoy

9.9

A cone-shaped floating mark that shows safe channels or dangers in water

noun
/nʌn bɔɪ/

Specialized

: boya conical

Sailors are trained to recognize a nun buoy by its distinctive conical shape.

Examples

The harbor was marked by a series of red nun buoys lining the channel.
The coast guard replaced the damaged nun buoy to ensure safe navigation.
Look at that nun buoy!
The nun buoy marked the entrance to the harbor.
Sailors are trained to recognize a nun buoy by its distinctive conical shape.
The coast guard replaced the damaged nun buoy to ensure safe navigation.
The harbor was marked by a series of red nun buoys lining the channel.

Synonyms

buoy

vsnun buoy

Specialized

49 6.0

A floating object anchored in water that marks safe routes and hazards

is a cone-shaped marker used mainly to mark channels or hazards at sea

nun

vsnun buoy

Specialized

1 9.9

A cone-shaped buoy that marks channels or hazards in water

is the specific term used for the same marker at sea

conical buoy

vsnun buoy

7.1

A floating cone that helps boats know where to go

is used at sea specifically rather than in general waterways

Surface Forms

nun buoy singular

nun buoys plural

Morphology

nun + buoy

This is compositionally transparent: 'nun' here denotes a specific type (a conical) and 'buoy' names the floating marker, so combining them yields a clear subtype meaning ('a conical navigational buoy'). The noun+noun compounding pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, making the MWE immediately inferable to a learner who knows both constituent senses (though learners who only know the religious sense of 'nun' might be confused).

Etymology

Nun buoy may come from its cone shape because sailors thought the pointed float looked like a nun's hat or hood, so they called the cone a nun and the floating marker a buoy. That's why a nun buoy means a cone-shaped floating marker used to show safe channels and dangers in the water.