Plural of 'gantry'; large frameworks or structures that span an area and support equipment for loading cargo, launching rockets, or positioning machinery.
From Middle English 'gantree,' possibly from Old French 'gantier' or related to 'gant.' A gantry is a bridge-like framework, and 'gantries' is its regular plural.
Modern space launch sites have massive gantries that tower hundreds of feet high—but the same technology started as simple wooden frameworks that dock workers used to load ships!
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