Pedal
['ped(ə)l] or ['pɛdl]
Definition
(noun.) a lever that is operated with the foot.
(verb.) operate the pedals on a keyboard instrument.
(adj.) of or relating to the feet; 'the word for a pedal extremity is `foot'' .
Inputed by Bernard--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Of or pertaining to the foot, or to feet, literally or figuratively; specifically (Zool.), pertaining to the foot of a mollusk; as, the pedal ganglion.
(a.) Of or pertaining to a pedal; having pedals.
(a.) A lever or key acted on by the foot, as in the pianoforte to raise the dampers, or in the organ to open and close certain pipes; a treadle, as in a lathe or a bicycle.
(a.) A pedal curve or surface.
Checker: Sondra
Definition
adj. pertaining to a foot.—n. any part of a machine transmitting power from the foot: in musical instruments a lever moved by the foot.—v.i. to work a pedal.—n. Pēdā′le a foot-cloth in front of an altar: a collection of canons of general councils in the Greek Church.—adjs. Pēdā′lian relating to the foot or to a metrical foot; Ped′āte divided like a foot: (bot.) having the side lobes of a divided leaf also divided into smaller parts the midribs of which do not run to a common centre as in the palmate leaf.—adv. Ped′ātely.—adj. Pedat′ifid divided in a pedate manner but having the divisions connected at the base.—Combination pedal a metal pedal in organs controlling several stops at once.
Editor: Nita
Examples
- The first back-pedal brake is shown in United States Pat. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Then appeared the harpsichord, a still nearer approach to the piano, having a hand or knee-worked pedal, and on which Mozart and Handel and Haydn brought out their grand productions. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The Morrow hub brake, which applies friction to the rear wheel hub by back pressure on the pedal, is a popular modern form. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Out of them we dragged a bicycle, Palmer-tired, one pedal bent, and the whole front of it horribly smeared and slobbered with blood. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- His head was down and his shoulders rounded, as he put every ounce of energy that he possessed on to the pedals. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- In 1855 Ernst Michaux, a French locksmith, applied, for the first time, the foot cranks and pedals to the axle of the drive wheel. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In this the high wheel was behind and the small one in front, and straps and ratchet wheels connected the pedals to the axle. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- It should be understood that propulsion of this first Copeland model was not intended to depend solely upon mechanical power, but to be operated in connection with the foot pedals. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- There is a sharp turning of the road, and I pedalled very quickly round this, and then I stopped and waited. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Edited by Greg