pinion

¹ American  

[pin-yuhn] / ˈpɪn yən /

noun

1. Machinery.

   1. a gear with a small number of teeth, especially one engaging with a rack or larger gear.

   2. a shaft or spindle cut with teeth engaging with a gear.

2. Metalworking. a gear driving a roll in a rolling mill.

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pinion ² American  

[pin-yuhn] / ˈpɪn yən /

noun

1. the distal or terminal segment of the wing of a bird consisting of the carpus, metacarpus, and phalanges.

2. a feather.

3. the flight feathers collectively.

4. Chiefly Literary. the wing of a bird.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cut off the pinion of (a wing) or bind (the wings), as in order to prevent a bird from flying.

2. to disable or restrain (a bird) in such a manner.

3. to bind (a person's arms or hands) so they cannot be used.

4. to disable (someone) in such a manner; shackle.

5. to bind or hold fast, as to a thing.

   to be pinioned to one's bad habits.

pinion ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪnjən /

noun

1. poetic a bird's wing

2. the part of a bird's wing including the flight feathers

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verb

1. to hold or bind (the arms) of (a person) so as to restrain or immobilize him

2. to confine or shackle

3. to make (a bird) incapable of flight by removing that part of (the wing) from which the flight feathers grow

pinion ² British  

/ ˈpɪnjən /

noun

1. a cogwheel that engages with a larger wheel or rack, which it drives or by which it is driven

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Other Word Forms

• pinionless
  adjective
• pinionlike
  adjective
• unpinioned
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pinion¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from French pignon “cogwheel,” Middle French peignon, derivative of peigne “comb,” variant of pigne, from Latin pectin- (stem of pecten ) “comb”; see pecten

Origin of pinion²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English pinion, pinoun, from Middle French, Old French penon, pignon “wing, pinion,” from Vulgar Latin pinniōn- (unattested), stem of pinniō, derivative of Latin pinna “feather, wing, fin”

Explanation

Many cars use rack-and-pinion steering, in which the steering wheel turns a small-toothed pinion gear, which engages the larger rack that turns the car's wheels. Pinions make steering easy and smooth. This is true for cars as well for birds — pinion can also refer to a bird's wing or a large wing feather. Pinion comes to English through Old French, but the word ultimately derives from Latin pinna, meant both "feather" and "battlement."

Example Sentences

Inside, there were displays of timepieces from labels that have received international attention, including Christopher Ward and Fears, alongside many less well-known brands, such as Geckota, Isotope Watches, Pinchbeck and Pinion.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2024

Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion in October issued a public apology saying the department had initially given inaccurate information about the shooting.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 8, 2023

Pinion said the city’s mayor will conduct a review and “make a final determination if discipline is warranted and to what extent.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2023

Pinion was added the Atlanta injury report on the eve of the contest in Nashville.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2023

An advertisement in the newspapers produced a large number of applications, and about a dozen of the applicants were selected to be seen, one after the other, by Pinion and myself. 

From Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland by Tatlow, Joseph

Related Words

• confine
• constrain
• control
• curb
• curtail
• detain
• deter
• govern
• hamper
• hinder
• inhibit
• keep down
• kill
• limit
• prevent
• repress
• restrict
• subdue
• suppress