wheelwork

American  

[hweel-wurk, weel-] / ˈʰwilˌwɜrk, ˈwil- /

noun

1. a train of gears, as in a timepiece.

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wheelwork British  

/ ˈwiːlˌwɜːk /

noun

1. an arrangement of wheels in a machine, esp a train of gears

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Etymology

Origin of wheelwork

First recorded in 1660–70; wheel + work

Example Sentences

The feminine forms which, towering majestically above the thrones of wheelwork, look down upon the dwarfed passenger or equestrian, are to-day perceived to have been presented on no exaggerated scale in the pages of Punch.

From Project Gutenberg

He is part of the rush in our social wheelwork, and yet he makes it move more slowly.

From Project Gutenberg

But are we prepared to grant this first position—to assert that man is but an automaton, whose wheelwork is entirely without—the mere buffet and plaything of accident and circumstances?

From Project Gutenberg

Beside the paternal face, before which, with most children, the whole wheelwork of a free behavior grates and sticks, a third cause made him disconcerted and witty,–namely, that he was after something.

From Project Gutenberg

The awkward footsteps of this rough man have crushed to pieces the artificial wheelwork.

From Project Gutenberg