petcock

Or pet cock

[pet-kok]

noun

1. a small valve or faucet, as for draining off excess or waste material from the cylinder of a steam engine or an internal-combustion engine.

petcock

/ ˈpɛtˌkɒk /

noun

1. a small valve for checking the water level in a steam boiler or draining condensed steam from the cylinder of a steam engine

Word History and Origins

Origin of petcock¹

1860–65; pet, perhaps < French pet ( petard ) + cock ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of petcock¹

C19: from _pet ¹ or perhaps French pet, from péter to break wind + _cock ¹

Example Sentences

Unlike the Revel, it broke down constantly, teaching me new vocabulary words like “idle jet,” “petcock” and “lean oil mixture.”

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A mechanic discovered that the car’s petcock - a small valve at the bottom of the radiator - had been loosened, and the water had leaked out.

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A mechanic discovered that the car’s petcock — a small valve at the bottom of the radiator — had been loosened, and the water had leaked out.

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Once that has been solidly coursing for 10 minutes, cap the vent with the petcock.

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Let’s start with the elephant, a.k.a. the pressure canner: hulking and heavy with gaskets, dials, clamps and something called a petcock.

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Related Words

• spigot 
• valve