gimbals

[ jim-buhlz, gim- ]

/ ˈdʒɪm bəlz, ˈgɪm- /

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noun (used with a singular verb)

Sometimes gimbal. a contrivance, consisting of a ring or base on an axis, that permits an object, as a ship's compass, mounted in or on it to tilt freely in any direction, in effect suspending the object so that it will remain horizontal even when its support is tipped.

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Also called gimbal ring .

Origin of gimbals

First recorded in 1570–80; alteration of gimmal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gimbals in a sentence

The half gimbal B pivoting in the socket of the base C allows the register to receive the strain in the direct line.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 7|Various
He opened the scuttles, hooked back the door, and lit the brass gimbal-lamp.
Command|William McFee
There was a great box swinging in twenty-foot gimbal rings over in the Shed.
Space Tug|Murray Leinster
Gimbal, gim′bal, n. a contrivance for suspending the mariner's compass, so as to keep it always horizontal.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

The four pistons are carried upon the gimbal ring, which connects, by means of pivots, the two chair couplings.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885|Various

British Dictionary definitions for gimbals

gimbals

/ (ˈdʒɪmbəlz, ˈɡɪm-) /

pl n

a device, consisting of two or three pivoted rings at right angles to each other, that provides free suspension in all planes for an object such as a gyroscope, compass, chronometer, etcAlso called: gimbal ring

Word Origin for gimbals

C16: variant of earlier gimmal finger ring, from Old French gemel, from Latin gemellus, diminutive of geminus twin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012