camel

1. (typically in the plural) A vessel or tank, typically paired, used to make an object more buoyant.Examples: "Nantucket Island is probably the only place in the United States where camels were put to work to solve the problem created by a sandbar. They were Marine camels, and like their live namesake, they were of a rugged construction and were designed to do very heavy work. In the shape of two large wooden boxes, the camels were flooded with sea water until they sank to a low level in the water; they were then arranged on each side of a heavily-loaded ship and drawn tightly together around the ship by means of heavy chains passing under the ship's hull. As the sea water was pumped out of the camels, they rose up to a higher level, raising the ship between them, and when fully emptied the camels and the ship were towed across the bar easily and safely because of the lesser draft. First used in Holland as early as 1688, the camels were invented by one M. M. Bakker, who named them for their great strength. The Dutch used them to carry large ships over the Pampas, which was a passage between two sandbanks in the Zyder Zee, opposite the mouth of the River Y, and about six miles from the city of Amsterdam. The Russians adopted the idea and used camels for carrying ships over the shoals at Neva..."Synonyms: caisson

2. (ethnic slur) A person of Middle Eastern origin.ethnicslur

3. (chess) A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.Examples: "The fers and camel can reach all the cells of one colour. The others are more restricted; the dummy cannot move at all, and the commuter can only move back and forth between two cells."