escapement

American  

[ih-skeyp-muhnt] / ɪˈskeɪp mənt /

noun

1. Horology. the portion of a watch or clock that measures beats and controls the speed of the going train.

2. a mechanism for regulating the motion of a typewriter carriage, consisting of pawls and a toothed wheel or rack.

3. a mechanism in a piano that causes a hammer to fall back into rest position immediately after striking a string.

4. an act of escaping.

5. Archaic. a way of escape; outlet.

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escapement British  

/ ɪˈskeɪpmənt /

noun

1. horology a mechanism consisting of an escape wheel and anchor, used in timepieces to provide periodic impulses to the pendulum or balance

2. any similar mechanism that regulates movement, usually consisting of toothed wheels engaged by rocking levers

3. (in a piano) the mechanism that allows the hammer to clear the string after striking, so that the string can vibrate

4. an overflow channel

5. rare an act or means of escaping

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Etymology

Origin of escapement

1730–40; escape + -ment (calque of French échappement

Example Sentences

The escapement is what produces the tick-tock sound in a clock.

From Washington Times • Jan. 9, 2017

For instance, the new federal rules for the Gulf of Mexico require permit holders to report to the government only “major escapement events”, defined as 10% or more of cultured fish escaping from a pen.

From The Guardian • Sep. 25, 2016

Wild runs of steelhead have surpassed the 6,000 escapement goal set by the management plan since 2012, according to Fish & Wildlife data.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2016

Precise Future of Silicon Parts Still Being Debated When Ulysse Nardin introduced its Freak watch in 2001, eyebrows were raised at its use of silicon for two escapement wheels instead of the usual steel.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2012

The descent of the weight is regulated by an escapement mechanism and, before the pendulum, it was the inaccuracy of this regulation that was the source of error.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton