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pinion

1
[ pin-yuhn ]
/ ˈpɪn yən /
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See synonyms for: pinion / pinioned / pinioning / pinions on Thesaurus.com

noun
Machinery.
  1. a gear with a small number of teeth, especially one engaging with a rack or larger gear.
  2. a shaft or spindle cut with teeth engaging with a gear.
Metalworking. a gear driving a roll in a rolling mill.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of pinion

1
First 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, adjective

Other definitions for pinion (2 of 2)

pinion2
[ pin-yuhn ]
/ ˈpɪn yən /

noun
verb (used with object)

Origin of pinion

2
First 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, adjective
Dictionary.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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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