shaft
pronunciation
How to pronounce shaft in British English:
UK [ʃɑːft]
How to pronounce shaft in American English:
US [ʃæft]
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- Noun:
- a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
- an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
- a long rod or pole (especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow)
- a column of light (as from a beacon)
- the main (mid) section of a long bone
- obscene terms for penis
- a long pointed rod used as a weapon
- a vertical passageway through a building (as for an elevator)
- (architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column
- a vertical passage into a mine
- a revolving rod that transmits power or motion
- the hollow shaft of a feather
-
- Verb:
- equip with a shaft
- defeat someone in an expectation through trickery or deceit
Word Origin
- shaft
- shaft: [OE] Shaft is a general Germanic word, shared by German and Dutch schaft and Swedish and Danish skaft. These point back to a common prehistoric ancestor *skaftaz, which may have been descended from the Indo-European base *scap- ‘support’ (source of English sceptre [13]).=> sceptre
- shaft (n.1)
- Old English sceaft "long, slender rod, staff, pole; spear-shaft; spear," from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz (cognates: Old Norse skapt, Old Saxon skaft, Old High German scaft, German schaft, Dutch schacht, not found in Gothic), which some connect with a Germanic passive past participle of PIE root *(s)kep- "to cut, to scrape" (source of Old English scafan "to shave, scrape, polish") on notion of "tree branch stripped of its bark." But compare Latin scapus "shaft, stem, shank," Greek skeptron "a staff" (see scepter) which appear to be cognates. Meaning "beam or ray" (of light, etc.) is attested from c. 1300. Sense of "an arrow" is from c. 1400; that of "a handle" from 1520s. Mechanical sense is from 1680s. Vulgar slang meaning "penis" first recorded 1719 on notion of "columnar part" (late 14c.); hence probably shaft (v.) and the related noun sense "act of unfair treatment" (1959), though some early sources insist this is from the notion of a "wound."
- shaft (n.2)
- "long, narrow passage sunk into the earth," early 15c., probably from shaft (n.1) on notion of "long and cylindrical," perhaps as a translation of cognate Low German schacht in this sense (Grimm's suggestion, though OED is against it). Or it may represent a separate (unrecorded) development in Old English directly from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz if the original sense is "scrape, dig." The slang sense of shaft (n.1) is punned upon in country music song "She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft," a hit for Jerry Reed in 1982.
- shaft (v.)
- "treat cruelly and unfairly," by 1958, perhaps from shaft (n.1) with overtones of sodomy. Related: Shafted; shafting.
Example
- 1. At some point , I opened the door about two inches and looked down the shaft at an infinite blackness .
- 2. Others say the shaft may be sufficiently stable to make the installation of pipe unnecessary .
- 3. 107 Of them have been pulled out of the shaft .
- 4. I drilled a hole in the detached stem and epoxied in a 6mm bolt , then screwed that into a coupling nut on the joystick shaft .
- 5. An updated shaft drive - which replaces the chain with a rod and internal gear system - would be perfect for urban riders .