Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for pinion on Thesaurus.com Machinery a gear with a small number of teeth, especially one engaging with a rack or larger gear. a shaft or spindle cut with teeth engaging with a gear. Metalworking a gear driving a roll in a rolling mill. Show More
Origin of pinion 1 1650–60; <
French pignon cogwheel,
Middle French peignon, derivative of
peigne comb, variant of
pigne <
Latin pectin- (stem of
pecten ) comb; see
pecten Related forms pin·ion·less , adjective pin·ion·like , adjective the distal or terminal segment of the wing of a bird consisting of the carpus, metacarpus, and phalanges. the wing of a bird. a feather. the flight feathers collectively. Show More
to cut off the pinion of (a wing) or bind (the wings), as in order to prevent a bird from flying. to disable or restrain (a bird) in such a manner. to bind (a person's arms or hands) so they cannot be used. to disable (someone) in such a manner; shackle. to bind or hold fast, as to a thing: to be pinioned to one's bad habits. Show More
Origin of pinion 2 1400–50; late Middle English pynyon < Middle French pignon wing, pinion < Vulgar Latin *pinniōn (stem of pinniō ), derivative of Latin pinna feather, wing, fin
Related forms un·pin·ioned , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for pinion wheel ,
leg ,
extremity ,
stem ,
arm ,
branch ,
wing ,
embargo ,
restriction ,
constraint ,
prohibition ,
reduction ,
limit ,
ban ,
curb ,
prong ,
plume ,
fringe ,
fasten ,
fix Examples from the Web for pinion Historical Examples of pinion It is only a short essay, just to try the strength of my Muse's pinion in that way.
Take your kerchief, Kenneth, and pinion his wrists behind him.
In the latter case, the small one is the pinion , and the larger one the spur wheel.
Now a spur gear, as well as a pinion , has three diameters; one measurep.
The father throws the pinion into the fire, and the eagle appears.
British Dictionary definitions for pinion mainly poetic a bird's wing the part of a bird's wing including the flight feathers Show More
to hold or bind (the arms) of (a person) so as to restrain or immobilize him to confine or shackle to make (a bird) incapable of flight by removing that part of (the wing) from which the flight feathers grow Show More
Word Origin for pinion C15: from Old French pignon wing, from Latin pinna wing
a cogwheel that engages with a larger wheel or rack, which it drives or by which it is driven Show More
Word Origin for pinion C17: from French pignon cogwheel, from Old French peigne comb, from Latin pecten comb; see pecten
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
Word Origin and History for pinion n.1 "wing joint, segment of a bird's wing," mid-15c., from Old French pignon "wing-feather, wing, pinion" (c.1400), from Vulgar Latin *pinnionem (nominative *pinnio ), augmentative of Latin pinna "wing" (see pin (n.)).
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n.2 "small wheel with teeth to gear with a larger one" (as in rack and pinion ), 1650s, from French pignon "pinion" (16c.), literally "gable," from Old French pignon "pointed gable, summit," from Vulgar Latin *pinnionem , augmentative of Latin pinna "battlement, pinnacle" (see pin (n.)).
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v. "disable by binding the arms," 1550s, older in English than literal sense "cut or bind the pinions (of a bird's wing) to prevent flying" (1570s); from pinion (n.1). Related: Pinioned .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
