Axis
['æksɪs]
Definition
(noun.) the center around which something rotates.
(noun.) the 2nd cervical vertebra; serves as a pivot for turning the head.
(noun.) a straight line through a body or figure that satisfies certain conditions.
(noun.) in World War II the alliance of Germany and Italy in 1936 which later included Japan and other nations; 'the Axis opposed the Allies in World War II'.
(noun.) the main stem or central part about which plant organs or plant parts such as branches are arranged.
Editor: Rae--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The spotted deer (Cervus axis or Axis maculata) of India, where it is called hog deer and parrah (Moorish name).
(n.) A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body, on which it revolves, or may be supposed to revolve; a line passing through a body or system around which the parts are symmetrically arranged.
(n.) A straight line with respect to which the different parts of a magnitude are symmetrically arranged; as, the axis of a cylinder, i. e., the axis of a cone, that is, the straight line joining the vertex and the center of the base; the axis of a circle, any straight line passing through the center.
(n.) The stem; the central part, or longitudinal support, on which organs or parts are arranged; the central line of any body.
(n.) The second vertebra of the neck, or vertebra dentata.
(n.) Also used of the body only of the vertebra, which is prolonged anteriorly within the foramen of the first vertebra or atlas, so as to form the odontoid process or peg which serves as a pivot for the atlas and head to turn upon.
(n.) One of several imaginary lines, assumed in describing the position of the planes by which a crystal is bounded.
(n.) The primary or secondary central line of any design.
Inputed by Leila
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Shaft, spindle, arbor.
Typist: Waldo
Definition
n. the axle or the line real or imaginary on which a body revolves: the straight line about which the parts of a body or system are systematically arranged or which passes through the centre of all the corresponding parallel sections of it as of a cylinder globe or spheroid. The axis of a curved line is formed by a right line dividing the curve into two symmetrical parts as in the parabola ellipse and hyperbola:—pl. Axes (aks′ēz).—adj. Ax′ial.—adv. Ax′ially.—n. Ax′oid a curve generated by the revolution of a point round an advancing axis.—Axis of a lens the right line passing through a lens in such a manner as to be perpendicular to both sides of it; Axis of a telescope a right line which passes through the centres of all the glasses in the tube; Axis of incidence the line passing through the point of incidence perpendicularly to the refracting surface; Axis of refraction the continuation of the same line through the refracting medium; Axis of the equator the polar diameter of the earth which is also the axis of rotation; Axis of the eye the right line passing through the centres of the pupil and the crystalline lens.
n. the hog-deer of India.
Typist: Meg
Examples
- This interior cylinder readily revolves on an axis, _g_, _g_, shown in the section of the instrument as seen edgewise. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- A series of turbines are set one after the other on the same axis, so that each takes steam from the preceding one, and passes it on to the next. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The ray _AC_, parallel to the principal axis, will pass through the lens and emerge as _DE_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The two towers at the axis supporting the wheel were 140 feet high, and the motive power was secured from a 1,000 horse-power steam engine under the wheel. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- It formed the pole and axis of this heathery world. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- She had two propellers on the same axis, but revolving in opposite directions, one being on the central shaft and the other on a concentric tube. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The lowest roll was set in a fixed bearing at the bottom of the frame, and, therefore, could only turn around on its axis. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- It was in that year that Ampère discovered that magnetism is the circulation of currents of electricity at right angles to the axis of the needle or bar joining the two poles of the magnet. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- A hole in the stone for the axis is made by a heated copper rod. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- A pair of small front steering wheels was arranged to turn about a vertical axis and was manipulated by a handle bar. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The materials are mixed together in a small closed wooden or leaden vessel, provided with an agitator, that can be worked by a handle fixed to a projecting axis at the top. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- He came to see that the apparent revolution of the heavenly bodies about the earth from east to west is really owing to the revolution of the earth on its axis from west to east. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- There is little axis of direction in the energies put forth; they are largely dispersive and centrifugal. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- This pump is fixed on an axis, to which rapid rotary motion can be given; and it is fitted into a case connected with the pipe that conveys the water to the discharging orifice. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- By means of a handle, seen projecting from the right hand side of the frame, the roller is shifted longitudinally on its axis rod after each letter has been printed. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- They have a kind of hard flints, which, by grinding against other stones, they form into instruments, that serve instead of wedges, axes, and hammers. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- I feel the rack pass over my body like the saws, and harrows, and axes of iron over the men of Rabbah, and of the cities of the children of Ammon! Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- In all modern mills these have been entirely displaced by porcelain rolls revolving on horizontal axes and crushing the grain between them. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The crew had been able to muster but six firearms, so most of them were armed with boat hooks, axes, hatchets and crowbars. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- These were probably used as hand-axes. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He had no tools to work with except those of the pioneers--axes, picks, and spades. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- A sort of rough court was constituted, and outside gathered a wild mob armed with sabres, pikes, and axes. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They never made hafted axes or the like that would enable them to deal with timber. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Checked by Freda