axletree

American  

[ak-suhl-tree] / ˈæk səlˌtri /

noun

1. a bar, fixed crosswise under an animal-drawn vehicle, with a rounded spindle at each end upon which a wheel rotates.

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axletree British  

/ ˈæksəlˌtriː /

noun

1. a bar fixed across the underpart of a wagon or carriage that has rounded ends on which the wheels revolve

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Etymology

Origin of axletree

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at axle, tree

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

axletree

I thought as how, sir, that your infallible axletree would give way.

From Speed the Plough A Comedy, In Five Acts; As Performed At The Theatre Royal, Covent Garden by Thomas Morton

The British put copper on the bottom of the spindle; Spanish and French designers put copper on the top, then set iron "axletree bars" into the bottom.

From Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America by Albert Manucy

And the whole axletree beneath was polluted with gore, and the rings which were round the chariot seat, which the drops from the horses' hoofs spattered, as well as from the felloes.

From The Iliad of Homer (1873) by Theodore Alois Buckley

They wished even for the corduroy expedient a little farther on, when the line became encumbered with stumps left from the underbrushing, and which caught in the axletree every few score yards.

From Cedar Creek From the Shanty to the Settlement by Elizabeth Hely Walshe

Note the heavy bed on which the cheeks of the carriage rest and the built-in skid under the center of the rear axletree.

From Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America by Albert Manucy