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A ring-shaped mass of moving fluid which, by virtue of its motion of rotation around an axis disposed in circular form, attains a more or less distinct separation from the surrounding medium and has many of the properties of a solid.

from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; -- said of a turning or whirling body; as, a top wabbles; a buzz saw wabbles. wobble.

purposes, as around a bolt or screw to form a seat for the head or nut, or around a wagon axle to prevent endwise motion of the hub of the wheel and relieve friction, or in a joint to form a packing, etc.

king of cotton, wool, hemp, and the like, used for wiping machinery, absorbing oil in the axle boxes of railway cars, etc.

A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a m…

h the load is suspended, turned by pulling on a rope wound around larger drum on the same axle. -- Whip gin. See Gin block, under 5th Gin. -- Whip grafting. See under Grafting. -- Whip hand, the hand with which the whip is used; hence, advantage; mastery; as, to have or get the whip hand of a person. Dryden. -- Whi…

A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top. Johnson.

An axle or drum turned by a crank with a handle, or by power, for raising weights, as from the hold of a ship, from mines, etc.; a windlass.

machine for raising weights, consisting of a horizontal cylinder or roller moving on its axis, and turned by a crank, lever, or similar means, so as to wind up a rope or chain attached to the weight. In vessels the windlass is often used instead of the capstan for raising the anchor. It is usually set upon the forecas…

lls. See Covert, n., 2. -- Wing gudgeon (Mach.), an iron gudgeon for the end of a wooden axle, having thin, broad projections to prevent it from turning in the wood. See Illust. of Gudgeon. -- Wing shell (Zoöl.), wing case of an insect. -- Wing stroke, the stroke or sweep of a wing. -- Wing transom (Naut.), the upp…

A piece generally projecting from a rotating or swinging piece, as an axle or rock shaft, for the purpose of raising stampers, lifting rods, or the like, and leaving them to fall by their own weight; a kind of cam.

ench, a wrench adapted for removing or tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles, or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or wagon. -- Monkey wrench. See under Monkey. -- Wrench hammer, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit of being used as a hammer.

One of the forked holders for supporting the telescope of a leveling instrument, or the axis of a theodolite; a wye.

rom the zenith, but on opposite sides of it. It turns both on a vertical and a horizontal axis, is provided with a graduated vertical semicircle, and a level for setting it to a given zenith distance, and with a micrometer for measuring the difference of the zenith distances of the two stars.

gs to all the planes of a zone, and expresses their common position with reference to the axes. -- Zonal structure (Crystallog.), a structure characterized by the arrangements of color, inclusions, etc., of a crystal in parallel or concentric layers, which usually follow the outline of the crystal, and mark the change…

; the portion of a surface of revolution included between two planes perpendicular to the axis. Davies & Peck (Math. Dict.)