gyroscope
UK /ˈd͡ʒaɪ.ɹəˌskəʊp/ · US /ˈd͡ʒaɪ.ɹəˌskoʊp/ noun
Forms gyroscopes
- noun An apparatus composed of a wheel which spins inside of a frame (gimbal) and causes the balancing of the frame in any direction or position. In the form of a gyroscopic stabilizer, used to help keep aircraft and ships steady.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French gyroscope, coined in 1852 by physicist Leon Foucault, equivalent to gyro- + -scope, from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “circle”) and σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A rotating wheel, mounted in a ring or rings, for illustrating the dynamics of rotating bodies, the composition of rotations, etc. It was devised by Professor W. R. Johnson, in 1832, by whom it was called the rotascope.
- noun A form of the above apparatus, invented by M. Foucault, mounted so delicately as to render visible the rotation of the earth, through the tendency of the rotating wheel to preserve a constant plane of rotation, independently of the earth's motion.
Etymology [Gr. -scope.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gyroscope”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details