rotary

Attested mid 18th century, from Medieval Latin rotarius, from Latin rota (“wheel”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹoʊtəɹi/

• Audio (Southern England)

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rotary (not comparable)

1. Capable of rotation.

   A rotary engine revolves the heads rather than having pistons go back and forth.

   • 1997, A. J. Taylor, D. S. Mothram, editors, Flavour Science: Recent Developments‎, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 63:

     Volatiles of kecap manis and its raw materials were extracted using Likens-Nickerson apparatus with diethyl ether as the extraction solvent. The extracts were then dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, concentrated using a rotary evaporator followed by flushing using nitrogen until the volume was about 0.5 ml.

rotary (plural rotaries)

1. (New England, Atlantic Canada) A roundabout, traffic circle.
2. (chiefly with initial capital) Any of the clubs making up the international Rotary International movement for community service.