hinge
pronunciation
How to pronounce hinge in British English:
UK [hɪndʒ]
How to pronounce hinge in American English:
US [hɪndʒ]
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- Noun:
- a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
- a circumstance upon which subsequent events depend
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- Verb:
- attach with a hinge
Word Origin
- hinge
- hinge: [13] Hinge is generally agreed to be related to the verb hang, and to mean etymologically ‘something on which a door hangs’, but the circumstances of its formation are obscure (as indeed are the reasons for its rhyming with singe, a 16th-century development; before that it rhymed with sing).=> hang
- hinge (n.)
- c. 1300, "the axis of the earth;" late 14c. as "movable joint of a gate or door," not found in Old English, cognate with Middle Dutch henghe "hook, handle," Middle Low German henge "hinge," from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hangen (intransitive), from PIE *konk- "to hang" (see hang (v.)). The notion is the thing from which a door hangs.
- hinge (v.)
- c. 1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.
Example
- 1. The " fuselage " of the robotic insect was designed to hold a small gm14 motor , crank and wing hinge .
- 2. There is no hinge to keep the screen upright and the kickstand works poorly on your legs .
- 3. That european countries , alongside asia 's rising giants , have emerged as the main hinge of an important international process must please them .
- 4. But the outcome of the territorial dispute may hinge on the medicinal herbs of a chinese empress , the collection of bird excrement by the japanese and the definition of what really makes an " island . "
- 5. The mother bear wallet , so named because it is protective of the money inside it , is designed to encourage saving and has a hinge that gets harder and harder to open the lower the bank balance .