a jointed device or flexible piece on which a door, gate, shutter, lid, or other attached part turns, swings, or moves.
a natural anatomical joint at which motion occurs around a transverse axis, as that of the knee or a bivalve shell.
that on which something is based or depends; pivotal consideration or factor.
Also called mount. Philately. a gummed sticker for affixing a stamp to a page of an album, so folded as to form a hinge, allowing the stamp to be raised to reveal the text beneath.
verb (used without object),hinged,hing·ing.
to be dependent or contingent on, or as if on, a hinge (usually followed by on or upon): Everything hinges on his decision.
verb (used with object),hinged,hing·ing.
to furnish with or attach by a hinge or hinges.
to attach as if by a hinge.
to make or consider as dependent upon; predicate: He hinged his action on future sales.
Origin of hinge
1250–1300;Middle Englishhenge; cognate with Low Germanheng(e), Middle Dutchhenge hinge; akin to hang
Related formshinge·less, adjectivehinge·like, adjectivere·hinge, verb (used with object),re·hinged,re·hing·ing.well-hinged, adjective
a device for holding together two parts such that one can swing relative to the other, typically having two interlocking metal leaves held by a pin about which they pivot
anatomya type of joint, such as the knee joint, that moves only backwards and forwards; a joint that functions in only one planeTechnical name: ginglymus
a similar structure in invertebrate animals, such as the joint between the two halves of a bivalve shell
something on which events, opinions, etc, turn
Also called: mountphilatelya small thin transparent strip of gummed paper for affixing a stamp to a page
c.1300, "the axis of the earth;" late 14c. as "movable joint of a gate or door," not found in Old English, cognate with Middle Dutch henghe "hook, handle," Middle Low German henge "hinge," from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hangen (intransitive), from PIE *konk- "to hang" (see hang (v.)). The notion is the thing from which a door hangs.
hinge
v.
c.1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.
