English Explanatory Dictionary

pulley

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One of the simple machines; a sheave, a wheel with a grooved rim, in which a pulled rope or chain lifts an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together, as in a block and tackle arrangement, such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).
  2. Annular ligament of the finger.
verb
  1. To raise or lift by means of a pulley.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A hamlet in Bayston Hill parish, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ4809).

Pronunciation

/ˈpʊli/ en-us-pulley.ogg /ˈpɵlɪj/ /ˈpʉle/ /-lɪ/ /-li/

Word forms

pulley pulleys pullies pulleying pulleyed

Etymology

From Middle English puly, poley, from Old French poulie, polie (“a pulley, windlass”), from Medieval Latin polidia, plural mistaken for the feminine of neuter polidium, from Ancient Greek πολίδιον (polídion, “little pivot”), diminutive of πόλος (pólos, “pivot, hinge, axis”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn”). Associated with pull (verb) by folk etymology.

Derived words

micropulley motor pulley mule pulley pulley block pulley bone pulleyless pulleylike pulley shell rubbish pulley speed pulley
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