gondola

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian gondola, from Venetian góndoƚa, from Byzantine Greek κοντούρα (kontoúra, “cutter, kind of ship”).

noun

1. A small long, narrow boat with a high prow and stern, propelled with a single oar, especially in Venice.
2. A hanging platform or car for transporting people or cargo.
   1. An enclosed car attached to a cable mechanically lifted up the side of a mountain; an enclosed ski lift; a cable car.
   2. The car or basket of a hot-air balloon, airship, zeppelin, etc.
   3. The hanging cart in which a glass-cleaning worker stands to clean exterior glass on tall buildings.
   4. That part of a transporter bridge that carries passengers, vehicles, along the length of the bridge span.
3. (rail transport, US) A type of open railway car with low sides, used to carry heavy freight such as crushed rock or steel.
4. A free-standing shelving unit in a supermarket or other retail store.

verb

1. To travel by gondola.