pulley

Meaning

Noun

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).

Verb

To raise or lift by means of a pulley.

Synonyms

block

windlass

sheave

pulley block

capstan

tackle

hoist

wheel

🛞

pulley-block

wren

escape wheel

glidewheel

slidewheel

rope block

pulley wheel

carrier roller

idler roller

winding tackle

sliding wheel

belt

sliding pulley

crane

disc

lift

muffle

plate

pry

roller

winch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpʊli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: puly

In summary

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.