What is to cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor. Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. Southey called?

float — To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor. Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. Southey. (Webster's 1913.)