Meaning

noun the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment

noun the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public

noun a drink with ice cream floating in it

originFrom Middle English floten, from Old English flotian (“to float”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-, *plew- (“to float, swim, fly”). Compare flow, fleet.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0