axle
pronunciation
How to pronounce axle in British English:
UK [ˈæksl]
How to pronounce axle in American English:
US [ˈæksəl]
-
- Noun:
- a shaft on which a wheel rotates
Word Origin
- axle
- axle: [17] The word axle emerges surprisingly late considering the antiquity of axles, but related terms had existed in the language for perhaps a thousand years. Old English had eax, which came from a hypothetical Germanic *akhsō, related to Latin axis. This survived in the compound ax-tree until the 17th century (later in Scotland); tree in this context meant ‘beam’.But from the early 14th century the native ax-tree began to be ousted by Old Norse öxultré (or as it became in English axle-tree); the element öxull came from a prehistoric Germanic *akhsulaz, a derivative of *akhsō. Axle first appeared on its own in the last decade of the 16th century (meaning ‘axis’, a sense it has since lost), and became firmly established in the early 17th century.
- axle (n.)
- "pole or pin upon which a wheel revolves," Middle English axel-, from some combination of Old English eax and Old Norse öxull "axis," both from Proto-Germanic *akhsulaz (cognates: Old English eaxl, Old Saxon ahsla, Old High German ahsala, German Achsel "shoulder"), from PIE *aks- "axis" (see axis). Found only in compound axletree before 14c.
Example
- 1. The nostalgia compensates for the 20th century engineering , notably the solid rear axle .
- 2. Meanwhile , a thick axle would hugely increase the amount of friction .
- 3. The success of the whole structure was extremely sensitive to the size of the axle .
- 4. In addition to gauging smoke density , spotters have to be able to quickly jot down the license plate number , axle count , vehicle class , body color and spotting location to avoid potential disputes with drivers .
- 5. They know how to code , but they 're also familiar with the smell of axle grease .