Floating on water or able to stay above water; also means having enough money or resources to keep operating.
From a- (on) + float. The nautical sense developed first in the 1500s, and the financial sense came later as metaphor for staying 'above water' financially.
Dead bodies naturally float due to gases produced during decomposition, which is why forensic scientists can use floating bodies to estimate time of death—a gruesome but crucial tool for solving mysteries.
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