hinge
[hinj]
- 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.
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- to be dependent or contingent on, or as if on, a hinge (usually followed by on or upon): Everything hinges on his decision.
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- 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.
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Origin of hinge
1250–1300; Middle English henge; cognate with Low German heng(e), Middle Dutch henge hinge; akin to hang
Synonyms
See more synonyms for hinge on Thesaurus.com5. rest, swing, pivot, depend.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hinged
Contemporary Examples
And this is to say nothing of election strategies that hinged on racial resentment.
The case against them hinged on the testimony of their accomplice Nathaniel Simms.
Historical Examples
The ornithopter has hinged planes which work like the wings of a bird.
Flying MachinesW.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
He rose up straightening himself as though he were a hinged figure.
ChanceJoseph Conrad
The tubes will then be closed upon one another as if they were hinged at the joint.
On Laboratory ArtsRichard Threlfall
They still had air; his helmet was off, but it was attached and hinged back.
Space VikingHenry Beam Piper
Where it is desired to have the hinged portion open flat and no more.
Handwork in WoodWilliam Noyes
hinge
- 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
- anatomy a 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: mount philately a small thin transparent strip of gummed paper for affixing a stamp to a page
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- (tr) to attach or fit a hinge to (something)
- (intr; usually foll by on or upon) to depend (on)
- (intr) to hang or turn on or as if on a hinge
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Word Origin
C13: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch henge; see hang
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hinged
hinge
n.
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.
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hinge
v.
c.1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hinge
(hĭnj)- A jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.