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; axle, tree

Example Sentences

After an old cart or waggon has done its work and is broken up, the wooden axletree, which is very solid, is frequently used for the top bar of a stile.

From Wild Life in a Southern County by Jefferies, Richard

Yen translated rapidly, scurrying along behind his sentences like a carriage dog beneath an axletree.

From Mortmain by Train, Arthur Cheny

He saw a greater Sun appear Than his bright throne, or burning axletree, could bear.

From In The Yule-Log Glow—Book 3 Christmas Poems from 'round the World by Morris, Harrison S. (Harrison Smith)

His carriage was overturned, and the axletree broken.

From The Village Notary by E?tv?s, J?zsef

Pattaquasset seems to me to be, socially, at one extreme pole of the axletree before-mentioned, and while I am here I feel no revolution of the great mass heaving beyond.

From Say and Seal, Volume I by Warner, Susan