polyspast

English

Etymology

From Latin polyspaston (“hoisting-tackle with many pulleys”), from Ancient Greek πολύσπαστον (polúspaston, “compound pulley”)

Noun

polyspast (plural polyspasts)

1. A machine consisting of many pulleys

   Synonyms: block and tackle, muffle, hoisting-tackle

   • 1849, Adalbert, Travels of His Royal Highness Prince Adalbert of Prussia, page 275:

     The Bishop of Chrysopolis, his Majesty's former tutor, consecrated the foundation-stone, which was suspended from two elegant polyspasts; the Emperor himself laid it.

2. (surgical) A machine of many pulleys, formerly used to reduce dislocation
3. (mechanics) A windlass with many pulleys and truckles

Translations

machine consisting of many pulleys — see block and tackle

References

• “polyspast”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Bailey, Nathan (1737) The Universal Etymological English Dictionary

Anagrams

• playspots