Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRAM, or PRAME, n. [D. praam.]

1. A flat-bottomed boat or lighter; used in Holland for conveying goods to or from a ship in loading or unloading. – Encyc.
2. In military affairs, a kind of floating battery or flat-bottomed vessel, mounting several cannon; used in covering the disembarkation of troops. – Encyc.