pulley
/ˈpʊli/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms pulleys pulleying pulleyed pullies
- noun (engineering, countable) One of the simple machines; a sheave, a wheel with a grooved rim, in which a pulled rope or chain lifts an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together, as in a block and tackle arrangement, such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).
- noun Annular ligament of the finger.
- verb (transitive) To raise or lift by means of a pulley.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A hamlet in Bayston Hill parish, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ4809).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English puly, poley, from Old French poulie, polie (“a pulley, windlass”), from Medieval Latin polidia, plural mistaken for the feminine of neuter polidium, from Ancient Greek πολίδιον (polídion, “little pivot”), diminutive of πόλος (pólos, “pivot, hinge, axis”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn”). Associated with pull (verb) by folk etymology.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A wheel with a broad rim, or grooved rim, for transmitting power from, or imparting power to, the different parts of machinery, or for changing the direction of motion, by means of a belt, cord, rope, or chain.
- To raise or lift by means of a pulley. [R.] Howell.
Etymology [F. poulie, perhaps of Teutonic origin (cf. Poll, b. t.); but cf. OE. poleine, polive, pulley, LL. polanus, and F. poulain, properly, a colt, fr. L. pullus young animal, foal (cf. Pullet, Foal). For the change of sense, cf. F. poutre beam, originally, a filly, and E. easel.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pulley”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details