treadle

American  

[tred-l] / ˈtrɛd l /

noun

1. a lever or the like worked by continual action of the foot to impart motion to a machine.

2. a platform, as on a bus or trolleycar, for opening an exit door.

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verb (used without object)

treadled, treadling

1. to work a treadle.

treadle British  

/ ˈtrɛdəl /

noun

1. 1. a rocking lever operated by the foot to drive a machine

   2. ( as modifier )

      a treadle sewing machine

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verb

1. to work (a machine) with a treadle

Other Word Forms

• treadler noun

Etymology

Origin of treadle

before 1000; Middle English tredel stairstep, Old English. See tread, -le

Example Sentences

If you have room, there are treadle feeders that are rat resistant you can use in the coop.

From Salon

Imitating the English, whose male weaving guilds had produced fine cloths on foot-powered treadle looms since the 1300s, the Danes trained North Atlantic men to weave on these faster looms.

From Scientific American

Dozens of mechanized needles pumping up and down sounded a continuous clickety-clack, clickety-clack over the rumble of foot treadles and the whir of spinning spools of thread.

From Literature

By practicing those designs, his father said, he could learn the basic techniques for the family’s two-meter-wide wooden treadle loom.

From New York Times

Puzzles for adults came into fashion about a century later, spreading further when advances in the lithographic press and the foot-powered treadle jigsaw made them easier and cheaper to produce.

From New York Times

Related Words

• crowbar
• pedal
• tool