cavalletto

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cavalletto.

Noun

cavalletto (plural cavallettos or cavalletti)

1. (plural "cavallettos") A specialized gantry crane for loading and unloading cargo ships that attaches to and moves along guides on the ship's hatchway.
   • 1983, Patrick Finlay, Coal--trade, transportation and handling:

     To increase the unloading rate it is possible to use various cavallettos placed over different holds, although the ship-to-ship transfer is the peculiarilty of the cavalletto.

   • 1997, The Motor Ship - Volume 79:

     A 240t SWL crane is used to move the cavallettos from hold to hold when discharging to the barge fleet.

   • 1984, Lloyd's Ship Manager - Volume 5, Issues 5-12, page 65:

     The initial stage in Somocar's latest plans was realised with the completion of the first 'Cavalletto', a joint project of Coe & Clerici and the crane manufacturer, Danieli.

2. (plural "cavalletti") A long pole placed horizontally at a height of 4 to 20 inches from the ground, used in training horses.
   • 1973, Sheila Willcox, The event horse, →ISBN, page 91:

     The first introduction to a cavalletto comes at the end of a line of poles.

   • 2010, Gaydell M. Collier, Eleanor F. Prince, Basic Training for Horses, →ISBN, page 195:

     By spacing cavalletti equally, you determine the horse's rhythm.

   • 2018, Ingrid Klimke, Reiner Klimke, Cavalletti for Dressage and Jumping, →ISBN:

     Cavalletti allow more demands to be made on the legs without compromising the quality of the gaits, namely walk, trot, and canter.

3. (historical) The punishment of being placed in a pillory and whipped.

Alternative forms

• cavaletto

Italian

Etymology

From cavallo +‎ -etto.

Noun

cavalletto m (plural cavalletti)

1. tripod

   Synonym: tripode

2. easel
3. kickstand
4. trestle
5. rack used for torture