polyspast
English
Etymology
From Latin polyspaston (“hoisting-tackle with many pulleys”), from Ancient Greek πολύσπαστον (polúspaston, “compound pulley”).
Noun
polyspast (plural polyspasts)
- A machine consisting of many pulleys
- Synonyms: block and tackle, muffle, hoisting-tackle
- 1849, Adalbert, Travels of His Royal Highness Prince Adalbert of Prussia, page 275:
- The Bishop of Chrysopolis, his Majesty's former tutor, consecrated the foundation-stone, which was suspended from two elegant polyspasts; the Emperor himself laid it.
- (surgical) A machine of many pulleys, formerly used to reduce dislocation
- (mechanics) A windlass with many pulleys and truckles
Translations
machine consisting of many pulleys — see block and tackle
References
- “polyspast”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Bailey, Nathan (1737) The Universal Etymological English Dictionary
Anagrams
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