gimbal
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
Alteration of gemel, from Old French gemel, jumel (“twin”) (French jumeau), from Latin gemellus.
Pronunciation
Noun
gimbal (plural gimbals)
- A device for suspending something, such as a ship's compass, so that it will remain level when its support is tipped.
- 1902, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in Typhoon:
- The lamp wriggled in its gimbals, the barometer swung in circles, the table altered its slant every moment […]
- 1934, A. E. W. Mason, “The Chronometer,” Chapter II, in Dilemmas, London: Hodder & Stoughton,
- He lifted the chronometer off the gimbals on which it was slung in the mahogany case and showed the number engraved upon the bottom.
Derived terms
Translations
device for suspending something
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Verb
gimbal (third-person singular simple present gimbals, present participle gimballing or gimbaling, simple past and past participle gimballed or gimbaled)
- (transitive) To suspend using a gimbal or gimbals.
- 1918, Richard Dehan (Clotilde Graves), That Which Hath Wings, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Chapter 32,
- […] he conned his course in masterly fashion by aid of the roller-map, protected by its transparent, rainproof casing, or the compass, clock, altimeter, and other instruments gimballed in the wooden frame in front of the pilot’s seat.
- 1918, Richard Dehan (Clotilde Graves), That Which Hath Wings, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Chapter 32,
- (transitive, aerospace) To move a reaction engine about on a gimbal so as to obtain pitching and yawing correction moments.[1]
- (intransitive) To swivel, move on an axis.
References
- Joseph A. Angelo, Jr., The Dictionary of Space Technology, NY: Facts On File, 1982, p. 89.
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