pantograph
Americannoun
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Also pantagraph an instrument for the mechanical copying of plans, diagrams, etc., on any desired scale.
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Electricity. a device usually consisting of two parallel, hinged, double-diamond frames, for transferring current from an overhead wire to a vehicle, as a trolley car or electric locomotive.
noun
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an instrument consisting of pivoted levers for copying drawings, maps, etc, to any desired scale
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a sliding type of current collector, esp a diamond-shaped frame mounted on a train roof in contact with an overhead wire
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a device consisting of a parallelogram of jointed rods used to suspend a studio lamp so that its height can be adjusted
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pantograph
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the pantograph makes and breaks contact with the line, he says, it produces sparks and electromagnetic bursts that can “drown the entire spectrum of faint radio signals the telescope is devoted to study.”
From Science Magazine • Mar. 7, 2023
Inside the cab, the transition was barely perceptible as Mr. Schmieder deployed the pantograph that connects to the overhead cables, a so-called catenary system.
From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2021
Light-rail trains are powered by a device called a pantograph, sometimes shaped like a metal arm, a diamond or a triangle.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2019
The incident just before 11 a.m. resulted from failure of a pantograph, an apparatus that extends upward from the roof, drawing power from the overhead wire into the train.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2017
The disadvantage of moving the weight of a long extension of rods was obviated, during the 17th century, through the use of a double set of balanced rods, resembling a pantograph.
From Mine Pumping in Agricola's Time and Later by Multhauf, Robert P.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
