caisson

cais•son n. [countable]

Civil Engineeringa structure built to protect workers, esp. a chamber for use in underwater construction.
Militarya two-wheeled wagon used for carrying ammunition for cannons.

cais•son n.

Civil Engineeringa structure used in underwater work, consisting of an airtight chamber, open at the bottom and containing air under sufficient pressure to exclude the water.
Civil Engineeringa boatlike structure used as a gate for a dock or the like.
[Naut.]
- NauticalAlso called camel, pontoon. a float for raising a sunken vessel, sunk beside the vessel, made fast to it, and then pumped out to make it buoyant.
- Naval Termsa watertight structure built against a damaged area of a hull to render the hull watertight;
  cofferdam.
Militarya two-wheeled wagon, used for carrying artillery ammunition.
Militaryan ammunition chest.
Militarya wooden chest containing bombs or explosives, used formerly as a mine.
Architecturecoffer (def. 4).

Old Provencal, equivalent. to caissa box (see case²) + -on augmentative suffix
French, Middle French
1695–1705

cais′soned, adj.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

caisson /kəˈsuːn; ˈkeɪs^ən/ n

a watertight chamber open at the bottom and containing air under pressure, used to carry out construction work under water
a watertight float filled with air, used to raise sunken ships See also camel
a watertight structure placed across the entrance of a basin, dry dock, etc, to exclude water from it
- a box containing explosives, formerly used as a mine
- an ammunition chest
another name for coffer

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, assimilated to caisse case²

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