ballast
ballast
noun bah-LAHST Rare
Origin: From Dutch or Low German 'ballast', 'bare load'.
Usage Note
Ballast in French covers the same two main senses as in English: heavy material carried in a ship's hold or a balloon to control stability, and the crushed stone layer under railway tracks. The verb derived from it, ballaster, means to lay ballast on a rail line. The word is invariable in gender and takes a regular plural ballasts.
Examples
"Le navire charge du ballast pour rester stable."
Natural Translation
The ship takes on ballast to stay stable.
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