axle

axle
\ \ [17] The word axle emerges surprisingly late considering the antiquity of axles, but related terms had existed in the language for perhaps a thousand years. Old English had eax, which came from a hypothetical Germanic *akhsō, related to Latin axis. This survived in the compound ax-tree until the 17th century (later in Scotland); tree in this context meant ‘beam’. But from the early 14th century the native ax-tree began to be ousted by Old Norse öxultré (or as it became in English axle-tree); the element öxull came from a prehistoric Germanic *akhsulaz, a derivative of *akhsō. Axle first appeared on its own in the last decade of the 16th century (meaning ‘axis’, a sense it has since lost), and became firmly established in the early 17th century.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Axle — Ax le ([a^]ks l), n. [OE. axel, exel, shoulder, AS. eaxl; akin to AS. eax axle, Sw. & Dan. axel shoulder, axle, G. achse axle, achsel shoulder, L. axis axle, Gr. a xwn, Skr. aksha, L. axilla shoulder joint: cf. F. essieu, axle, OF. aissel, fr.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • axle — (n.) pole or pin upon which a wheel revolves, M.E. axel , from some combination of O.E. eax and O.N. öxull axis, both from P.Gmc. *akhsulaz (Cf. O.E. eaxl, O.S. ahsla, O.H.G. ahsala, Ger. Achsel shoulder ), from PIE *aks axis (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • axle — [n] shaft around which wheels rotate arbor, axis, gudgeon, mandrel, pin, pivot, pole, rod, shaft, spindle, stalk, stem, support; concepts 464,830 …   New thesaurus

  • axle — ► NOUN ▪ a rod or spindle passing through the centre of a wheel or group of wheels. ORIGIN Old Norse …   English terms dictionary

  • axle — [ak′səl] n. [ME axel (only in comp. axeltre): see AXLETREE] 1. a rod on which a wheel turns, or one connected to a wheel so that they turn together 2. a) a bar connecting two opposite wheels, as of an automobile b) the spindle at either end of… …   English World dictionary

  • Axle — For other uses, see Axle (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Axl (disambiguation) or Axel (disambiguation). Train wheels are affixed to a straight axle, such that both wheels rotate in unison. This is called a wheelset. An axle is a… …   Wikipedia

  • axle — An axle is a shaft on which the wheels revolve. A full floating axle is used to drive the rear wheels. It does not hold them on nor support them. A semi floating or one quarter floating axle is used to drive the wheels, hold them on, and support… …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • axle — [17] The word axle emerges surprisingly late considering the antiquity of axles, but related terms had existed in the language for perhaps a thousand years. Old English had eax, which came from a hypothetical Germanic *akhsō, related to Latin… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • axle — ax|le [ˈæksəl] n [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: axletree axle (13 21 centuries), from Old Norse öxultre, from öxul axle + tre tree ] the bar connecting two wheels on a car or other vehicle …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • axle — UK [ˈæks(ə)l] / US noun [countable] Word forms axle : singular axle plural axles a metal bar that connects a pair of wheels on a car or other vehicle …   English dictionary

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