steelyard

[ steel-yahrd, stil-yerd ]

/ ˈstilˌyɑrd, ˈstɪl yərd /

noun

a portable balance with two unequal arms, the longer one having a movable counterpoise and the shorter one bearing a hook or the like for holding the object to be weighed.

Nearby words

Origin of steelyard

First recorded in 1630–40; steel + yard¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for steelyard

To this she adhered firmly, and Mr. Steelyard handed her over to Mr. Chaffanbrass.
Orley Farm|Anthony Trollope
The steelyard is adjusted to exactly counterbalance the unloaded belt or skips of its length, but rises in proportion to the load.
The Romance of Modern Mechanism|Archibald Williams
The Hanse merchants at the Steelyard alone controlled the markets of more than a hundred towns.
Days of the Discoverers|L. Lamprey
Holbein, however, met with a warm reception from the German merchants of the Steelyard, and painted portraits of many of them.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various

The Steelyard, of which we shall soon speak at length, gave him subject pictures to paint.
Holbein|Samuel Levy Bensusan

British Dictionary definitions for steelyard

steelyard

/ (ˈstiːlˌjɑːd) /

noun

a portable balance consisting of a pivoted bar with two unequal arms. The load is suspended from the shorter one and the bar is returned to the horizontal by adding weights to the longer one

Word Origin for steelyard

C17: from steel + yard 1 (in the archaic sense: a rod or pole)

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