pinion
1[ pin-yuhn ]
/ ˈpɪn yən /
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noun
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.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of pinion
1First recorded in 1650–60; from French pignon “cogwheel,” Middle French peignon, derivative of peigne “comb,” variant of pigne, from Latin pectin- (stem of pecten ) “comb”; see pecten
OTHER WORDS FROM pinion
pin·ion·less, adjectivepin·ion·like, adjectiveOther definitions for pinion (2 of 2)
pinion2
[ pin-yuhn ]
/ ˈpɪn yən /
noun
verb (used with object)
Origin of pinion
2First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English pinion, pinoun, from Middle French, Old French penon, pignon “wing, pinion,” from Vulgar Latin pinniōn- (unattested), stem of pinniō, derivative of Latin pinna “feather, wing, fin”
OTHER WORDS FROM pinion
un·pin·ioned, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pinion in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for pinion (1 of 2)
pinion1
/ (ˈpɪnjən) /
noun
mainly poetic a bird's wing
the part of a bird's wing including the flight feathers
verb (tr)
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
Word Origin for pinion
C15: from Old French pignon wing, from Latin pinna wing
British Dictionary definitions for pinion (2 of 2)
pinion2
/ (ˈpɪnjən) /
noun
a cogwheel that engages with a larger wheel or rack, which it drives or by which it is driven
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
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