Treadle
['tred(ə)l] or ['trɛdl]
Definition
(verb.) operate (machinery) by a treadle.
(verb.) tread over; 'the brick maker treadles over clay to pick out the stones'.
Checker: Reginald--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The part of a foot lathe, or other machine, which is pressed or moved by the foot.
(n.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the tread.
Edited by Clare
Examples
- Singer was the first to apply the treadle to the sewing machine for actuating it by foot power in the place of the hand-driven crank wheel. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- There is a valve in the tank which is opened by stepping on a treadle in the car, and this action admits to the bucket just enough weight of water to overbalance the load on the car. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Treadles were subsequently applied, but after a time the machine fell into disuse and was apparently forgotten. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- With this transition in the sewing machine foot treadles are no longer relied on, but the machines are run by power from countershafts. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Typed by Harrison