cantilever
UK /ˈkantɪliːvə/ · US /ˈkæntɪˌlivɚ/ noun, verb
Forms cantilevers cantilevering cantilevered cantalever cantaliver
- noun (engineering, construction) A beam anchored at one end and projecting into space, such as a long bracket projecting from a wall to support a balcony.
- noun A beam anchored at one end and used as a lever within a microelectromechanical system. “cantilever circuit”
- noun (figure skating) A technique, similar to the spread eagle, in which the skater travels along a deep edge with knees bent and bends their back backwards, parallel to the ice.
- verb To project (something) in the manner of or by means of a cantilever.
Etymology
First attested in the 1660s, probably from cant (“slope, edge, corner”) + lever, but the earliest form (c. 1610) was cantlapper. First element may also be Spanish can (“dog”), an architect's term for an end of timber jutting out of a wall, on which beams rested.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Same as Cantalever.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cantilever”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details