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View synonyms for treadle

treadle

[ tred-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.


verb (used without object)

, trea·dled, trea·dling.
  1. to work a treadle.

treadle

/ ˈtrɛdəl /

noun

    1. a rocking lever operated by the foot to drive a machine
    2. ( as modifier )

      a treadle sewing machine

“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


verb

  1. to work (a machine) with a treadle
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈtreadler, noun
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Other Words From

  • tread·ler [tred, -ler], noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of treadle1

before 1000; Middle English tredel stairstep, Old English. See tread, -le
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Word History and Origins

Origin of treadle1

Old English tredel , from trǣde something firm, from tredan to tread
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Example Sentences

Treadle water pumps in Africa and Asia allowed women farmers to irrigate small plots and increase their harvests and incomes.

A little black girl sat on the floor, and with her hands worked the treadle of the machine.

Bent low over the machine, he seems absorbed in the work, his hands deftly manipulating the shuttle, his foot on the treadle.

The wheel propelled by the treadle of the sewing machine will make a good drive wheel.

You stood before this and turned a large wheel at the left to start it, after which you kept it going with one foot on a treadle.

All that is necessary is to leave an extension to the arm or heel of the treadle to catch over the jaw of the trap.

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treadtread lightly