wheel
pronunciation
How to pronounce wheel in British English:
UK [wiːl]
How to pronounce wheel in American English:
US [wiːl]
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- Noun:
- a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
- a handwheel that is used for steering
- a circular helm to control the rudder of a vessel
- game equipment consisting of a rotating wheel with slots that is used for gambling; players bet on which slot the roulette ball will stop in
- an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims
- a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals
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- Verb:
- change directions as if revolving on a pivot
- wheel somebody or something
- move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
- ride a bicycle
Word Origin
- wheel
- wheel: [OE] A wheel is etymologically simply something that ‘goes round’. It is a member of a large family of words that goes back to Indo- European *qweqwlo-, which was derived from *qwelo- ‘go round’. Other members include Greek kúklos ‘circle’ (source of English cycle), Sanskrit cakrá- ‘circle, wheel’ (source of English chukker), Serbo-Croat and Czech kolo ‘wheel’, and Russian koleso ‘wheel’. Its prehistoric Germanic descendant was *khwekhula, which evolved into Dutch wiel, Swedish and Danish hjul, and English wheel.=> chukker, cycle, encyclopedia
- wheel (n.)
- Old English hweol, hweogol "wheel," from Proto-Germanic *hwewlaz- (cognates: Old Norse hvel, Old Swedish hiughl, Old Frisian hwel, Middle Dutch weel), from PIE *kw(e)-kwl-o- "wheel, circle," suffixed, reduplicated form of root *kwel- (1) (see cycle (n.)). The root wegh-, "to convey, especially by wheeled vehicle," is found in virtually every branch of Indo-European, including now Anatolian. The root, as well as other widely represented roots such as aks- and nobh-, attests to the presence of the wheel -- and vehicles using it -- at the time Proto-Indo-European was spoken. [Watkins, p. 96] Figurative sense is early 14c. Wheel of fortune attested from early 15c. Slang wheels "a car" is recorded from 1959. Wheeler-dealer is from 1954, a rhyming elaboration of dealer.
- wheel (v.)
- "to turn like a wheel," c. 1200, from wheel (n.); transitive sense attested from late 14c. Related: Wheeled; wheeling.
Example
- 1. It will take over from singapore 's 165-metre wheel .
- 2. And they all hung out at the big wheel truck stop .
- 3. The big wheel is the trim wheel .
- 4. Five percent of respondents said they shave behind the wheel .
- 5. Trembling with rage I pushed the control wheel forward and we plunged toward the lakeshore .