rotary

[roh-tuh-ree]

See more synonyms for rotary on Thesaurus.com

adjective

turning or capable of turning around on an axis, as a wheel.
taking place around an axis, as motion.
having a part or parts that turn on an axis, as a machine.

noun, plural ro·ta·ries.

a rotary device or machine.
Chiefly Northeastern U.S. traffic circle.
Also called rotary converter. Electricity. synchronous converter.
(initial capital letter) Rotary Club.

Origin of rotary

1725–35; < Medieval Latin rotārius (adj.), equivalent to Latin rot(a) wheel + -ārius -ary

Related formsun·ro·ta·ry, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rotary

whirling, spinning, whirligig, revolving, vertiginous, gyral, gyratory, rotating, rotational, rotatory

Examples from the Web for rotary

Contemporary Examples of rotary

Inquiries will be accepted only via Western Union telegram or rotary phone.
The World’s Toughest Political Quiz
Jeff Greenfield
December 31, 2014
Bob Bashara was a married Rotary Club president who lived in a ritzy Detroit suburb.
A Murder in Detroit’s Sexual Underworld
Steve Miller
October 8, 2014
The thwap-thwap-thwap of rotary wings above triggered an intense reaction in Army trauma surgeon Dr. (Maj.) Tara Dixon.
From Hero to Homeless: Tara Dixon’s Story
Paula Broadwell
July 4, 2013
She traveled to South Africa as a Rotary International Youth Ambassador and contracted malaria.
Rebel Wilson’s 12 Funniest Moments (Video)
Kevin Fallon
October 15, 2012
They have no jet aircraft—they rely on rotary wing aircraft.
Iraq's Lousy Odds
Eli Lake
November 1, 2011

Historical Examples of rotary

On Model B a Holmes rotary 7-cylinder motor of 4x4-inch bore and stroke is used.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
Sometimes the pan is shaken so that the dirt receives a rotary motion.
Hittel on Gold Mines and Mining
John S. Hittell
He swung it rigidly with the rotary and menacing action of a slinger: the 14-lb.
End of the Tether
Joseph Conrad
The log-hauler would not deliver the goods to the rotary saw.
A Labrador Doctor
Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
I changed the movement from a reciprocating to a rotary motion.
Peter Cooper
Rossiter W. Raymond

British Dictionary definitions for rotary

rotary

adjective

of, relating to, or operating by rotation
turning or able to turn; revolving

noun plural -ries

a part of a machine that rotates about an axis
US and Canadian a roundabout (for traffic)

Word Origin for rotary

C18: from Medieval Latin rotārius, from Latin rota a wheel

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 rotary

adj.

1731, from Medieval Latin rotarius "pertaining to wheels," from Latin rota "a wheel, a potter's wheel; wheel for torture," from PIE root *roto- "to run, to turn, to roll" (cf. Sanskrit rathah "car, chariot;" Avestan ratho; Lithuanian ratas "wheel," ritu "I roll;" Old High German rad, German Rad, Dutch rad, Old Frisian reth, Old Saxon rath, Old Irish roth, Welsh rhod "carriage wheel"). The international service club (founded by Paul P. Harris in Chicago in 1905) so called from the practice of clubs entertaining in rotation. Hence Rotarian (1911).