pistonn.
/ˈpɪst(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈpɪst(ə)n/ 1. A mechanical device consisting of a disc or cylindrical part attached to the end of a rod and fitting closely within a hollow cylinder or tube within which it can slide back and forth, so that it can impart motion to a fluid (as in a pump) or derive motion from the expansion of a gas (as in an internal combustion engine).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun]
piston1704
plunger1722
working box1773
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Air pump Each time the Piston or Sucker of the Pump is drawn back, the Air in the Receiver must expand it self so as in some measure to fill up the Cavity of the Pump left vacant by the Piston, as well as the Receiver it self.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 192 Piston is the short Cilinder..which is moved up and down in the Barrel of the Pump.
1786 Chambers's Cycl. (new ed.) Steam-engine, a large barrel or cylinder..and in this a piston well leathered.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. xv. 341 A small piston rendered air-tight by tow and tallow.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 930/2 Two sorts of pistons are used..: one hollow, with a valve, used in the sucking pump; and the other solid, which is employed in the forcing pump.
1867 W. W. Smyth Treat. Coal & Coal-mining 210 Horizontally-working pistons in prismatic chambers were erected in 1828 by M. Brisco, near Charleroi.
1931 C. E. Munroe & J. E. Tiffany Physical Testing Explosives 91 The piston operates best (sticks least) when the end of the hole in the cylinder is well covered with a thick mass of vaseline.
1990 W. A. Livesey GCSE Motor Vehicle Stud. iii. 29/1 When the piston starts to ascend on the last stroke of the cycle the piston forces the hot..burnt gases out of the exhaust systems.
2. Zoology. On certain aquatic invertebrates: a part within a sucker which can be retracted when it is placed on a surface, producing a partial vacuum which causes the sucker to adhere to the surface. rare.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Cephalopoda > [noun] > member of > parts of > retractile part in sucker
piston1841
plug1854
1841 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom xxv. §475. 432 A deep cavity [in the sucker of a cephalopod's tentacle]..at the bottom of which is placed a prominent piston..that may be retracted by muscular fibres.
1930 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 218 223 When a sucker [on the underside of a fly larva] is applied to a stone the outer rim lies flat on the substratum, the dorso-ventral muscles push the piston down..and the water is expelled from inside the tube; the piston then comes back to its position and a vacuum is created.
3. Music.
a. In an organ: a button placed above or below the keyboard or above the pedalboard, controlling a preset combination of stops.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > stop-knob
stop1585
stop-handle1858
piston1873
stop-knob1887
piston knob1890
thumb-piston1904
speaking stop1938
1873 Boston Globe 7 Mar. 1/7 Some of these pistons are colored white, some black, the former only playing major chords, the latter minor chords.
1927 A. Elson Bk. Musical Knowledge (new ed.) xlii. 389 Modern organs are often supplied with combination pistons, so arranged that the player can group several stops together under the control of one piston.
1983 J. W. Landon Behold Mighty Wurlitzer iii. 27 On each keyboard there is provided a double touch or piston labeled ‘Suitable bass’.
b. A sliding valve in a brass instrument used to alter the pitch of a note. See also cornet n.1.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > brass instruments > [noun] > parts of > valve
piston1876
ventil1876
1876 tr. P. Blaserna Theory Sound i. 20 By opening a communication with the external air..by means of pistons in the cornet.
1927 A. Elson Bk. Musical Knowl. (new ed.) lii. 453 They [sc. valves] injure tone quality somewhat by making the air-column pass through too many curves, each piston lengthening the tube by making the air go through a short additional curved section of tube.
2004 Times (Nexis) 12 Jan. (Features section) 26 German trumpets..are different from ours, using the same rotary valves as a horn (instead of pistons).
Compounds
C1.
piston plunger n.
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1797 Monthly Mag. 3 464 The piston-plunger is worked by a toothed segment-wheel.
1894 Manufacturer & Builder Nov. 256/2 Piston-plungers are sure to leak badly, requiring frequent re-packing.
2003 Financial Times (Nexis) 7 Oct. 5 Taylor & Fonseca has taken a slightly different route by installing piston plungers in their fermentation vats.
piston power n.
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1895 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Gaz. 23 May The area of the water piston power.]
1899 Daily News 7 Dec. 3/5 These solid slabs of metal are forced by..‘piston-power through a series of holes.’
1991 Air Display Internat. Nov. 34/1 A pair of Merlins with ‘handed’ (one going round each way) propellers, eliminating most of the swing and allowing that full punch of piston power to be achieved quickly.
piston speed n.
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1863 Sci. Amer. 29 Aug. 138/1 A piston speed of 468 feet per minute.
1987 Financial Post (Canada) (Nexis) 14 Dec. ii. 16 Speed control mufflers allow metering of exhaust air flow to control piston speed.
C2. † piston knob n. Obsolete rare = sense 3a.† piston spring n. Obsolete a spring around or inside a piston head, which acts as packing, or which presses the piston head against the cylinder wall in order to prevent leakage.
piston bellows n. bellows in which the air current is supplied by the action of a piston.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [noun] > forging equipment > bellows > types of
Hessian bellows1705
piston bellows1850
pulsera1903
pulsometera1903
1850 T. Ewbank Hydraul. & Other Machines iii. ii. 244 Piston bellows; machines identical with cylindrical forcing pumps.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1717/1 A piston-bellows, formed by boring out the trunks of trees, used by the natives of Madagascar for smelting..iron.
1994 J. Farman Suspiciously Simple Hist. Sci. & Invention (new ed.) ii. 31 The clever Chinese invented the piston bellows, producing a continuous stream of air.
piston core n. a core of underwater sediment obtained with a piston core sampler.
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1954 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 222 289 A device which may prove useful for increasing the length of the piston cores can be suggested.
2002 Science (Nexis) 29 Nov. 1724 Presented with the opportunity to sample 50-m-long piston cores.., Adkins began a study of the paleosalinity of the ocean.
piston corer n. = piston core sampler n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > equipment for use on seabed
creeper?a1400
tangle1882
creep1889
Petersen grab1923
snapper grab1925
sled1939
piston sampler1946
piston core sampler1947
piston corer1954
hydrocast1960
1954 Jrnl. Sedimentary Petrol. 24 207 (title) A modified Kullenberg piston corer.
1992 Cambr. Encycl. Human Evol. (1994) v. ii. 176/2 Cores covering the whole of the late Cenozoic are now available as a result of the advent in 1979 of a hydraulic piston corer.
piston core sampler n. an underwater core sampler consisting of a long weighted cylinder containing at its lower end a piston attached to the lowering cable, devised so that when the cylinder enters the bottom sediments under its own weight the descent of the piston is arrested, and the resulting partial vacuum inside the cylinder causes the pressure of the water to force it further into the sediment.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > equipment for use on seabed
creeper?a1400
tangle1882
creep1889
Petersen grab1923
snapper grab1925
sled1939
piston sampler1946
piston core sampler1947
piston corer1954
hydrocast1960
1947 B. Kullenberg in Svenska Hydrogr.-Biol. Komm. Skrifter (Ser. 3: Hydrogr.) 1 ii. 12 The piston core sampler..has been based on a method to procure samples for ground investigations.
1998 Fisheries Sci. 64 985 (title) A handy piston core sampler for sediments in shallow water.
piston drill n. a percussion drill in which the bit is attached to the rod of a piston.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > drill > power drills > percussion drills
pneumatic drill1861
percussion drill1871
road drill1907
hammer drill1908
piston drill1910
jackhammer1912
1901 M. M. Kirkman Locomotive Appliances 475 (caption) Piston air drill for drilling, reaming and tapping on locomotive work.]
1910 Nevada State Jrnl. 16 May 2/2 Piston drills are now being used and two shifts employed.
1967 K. McGregor Drilling of Rock i. 12 1860–70..; a commercial piston drill was patented by Burleigh in America.
1997 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (Nexis) 16 Oct. b3 Piston drills... A piston was rigidly attached to the drill steel and moved back and forth in a cylinder on each stroke of the drill.
piston engine n. an engine in which motion is derived from the reciprocating action of a piston, esp. an aircraft engine using reciprocating pistons rather than a turbine; a reciprocating engine.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > piston
piston engine1802
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > means of propulsion > [noun] > aircraft engine > piston engine
piston engine1802
1802 R. Claiborne Let. 12 Dec. in B. Oberg Papers Thomas Jefferson (2012) XXXIX. 140 As regards the piston engine, I hope that some late inventions in steam..will produce that easy flow of power so much to be desired.
1841 Times 1 Apr. 7/4 (advt.) A concise review of the invention of the piston engine.
1907 Engineering 21 June 829/2 If the turbine requires a screw which is necessarily less efficient than that of the piston engine, it is the fault of the turbine system.
1960 C. H. Gibbs-Smith Aeroplane xvi. 126 The piston engine reached its apogee in the post-war period with such examples as the Pratt & Whitney 28-cylinder 3,500 h.p. radial.
1992 FlyPast (BNC) Nov. 52 Avgas—fuel for piston engines—is becoming increasingly rare and Avtur—aviation turbine fuel—is the dominant motion lotion.
piston-engined adj. powered by a piston engine.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [adjective] > having piston-engine
piston-engined1909
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [adjective] > powered by piston engine
piston-engined1909
1909 Times 10 Mar. 17/5 My statement..had relation strictly to the alternative scheme proposed..for a piston-engined Lusitania, with three screws of very large diameter.
1948 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 52 591/1 The Airspeed Ambassador may be taken as representing the most advanced piston-engined commercial aeroplane of its size yet in prospect.
2001 Navy News Feb. 6/6 A couple of piston-engined Grumman Avengers (known to all and sundry as ‘chuff boxes’).
piston head n. the disc or cylindrical part forming the end of a piston, which is attached to the piston rod.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > parts of
piston valve1735
piston rod1753
piston ring1754
piston head1824
gland1839
junk ring1839
slipper block1881
tail-rod1894
scraper ring1918
1824 London Lit. Gaz. 31 July 491/2 The pressure of the air on the piston-head again forces it down on the head of the cylinder.
1847 Sci. Amer. 26 June 313/3 The water presses against the piston head and forces it up.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station xiii. 216 Considerable difficulty was experienced with these engines owing to the rapid deterioration of the scraper rings fitted on the piston heads.
1992 Woodworker Feb. 86/3 Great care should be taken to smooth and even varnish the inside of the box so no air can leak past the piston head.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > stop-knob
stop1585
stop-handle1858
piston1873
stop-knob1887
piston knob1890
thumb-piston1904
speaking stop1938
1890 Salem (Ohio) Daily News 12 June The instrument contains 1, 867 pipes.., 18 pneumatic piston knobs, and 3 pedal combinations operating the entire organ.
piston packing n. (a) any material used for filling the space between a piston head and the cylinder within which it moves, so as to prevent steam, air, etc., leaking out; (b) a mechanical device for inserting such packing material around a piston head.
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society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > material for other specific purposes
screen cloth1603
wadding1627
heading1650
fusive1678
graving stuff1702
pounce1728
railing1740
retarder1753
seating1790
shelving1817
bending1823
shafting1825
wedging1825
rubber sheet1842
facing1843
piston packing1857
sheathing1859
screeding1864
paint1875
sleeving1923
landfill1969
presoak1969
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > [noun] > that which closes an aperture > material or composition used for > for specific purpose
piston packing1857
well packing1865
1857 Sci. Amer. 19 Sept. 10/2 The springs..are possessed of the following characteristics which distinguish them from the ordinary piston packing, viz., that they are elastic in the direction of their circumference, and not, as usually, in the direction of their diameter.
1890 Cent. Dict. Piston-packing... 2. A mechanical device for packing pistons, in which the operation depends more upon the construction than upon the fibrous, plastic, or compressible properties of the packing-material.
2002 Wood & Wood Products (Nexis) 1 Nov. 97 Self-adjusting, spring loaded throat and piston packings.
pistonphone n. Acoustics a device for producing known sound pressures by means of a vibrating piston whose motion is precisely measured, used mainly for calibrating microphones.
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the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > instrument measuring number or pressure
phonometer1823
pistonphone1922
probe microphone1945
probe mike1976
1922 E. Wente in Physical Rev. 19 343 (caption) Use of pistonphone for calibrating an electrostatic transmitter.
1965 C. A. Taylor Physics Mus. Sounds vi. 100 The pistonphone..appears to be used only for scientific work at very low frequencies. It consists..of a piston driven by a rotating cam.
2003 Sensors Mag. (Nexis) 1 Apr. 15 There are two basic types of dynamic pressure calibrators—periodic and aperiodic. Periodic types, such as Pistonphones, generate a defined sine wave pressure for calibrating microphones and other low pressure acoustic sensors.
piston pin n. a pin which secures a piston to its connecting rod, esp. in an internal combustion engine.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > pins
crank-pin1839
piston pin1853
cross-head pin1887
1853 Sci. Amer. 24 Sept. 9/4 The bell-crank..is connected by a joint, n, to the piston pin in cylinder R.
1910 W. A. Tookey tr. R. E. Mathot Constr. & Working Internal Combustion Eng. xiii. 375 The piston pin is made of the best quality mild steel.
1991 Boating Business Feb. 16/4 Longer piston pins are fitted and the top compression ring has a modified cross section to cater for the higher temperature generated.
piston pump n. a pump having a piston.
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1790 W. Blakey Misc. Wks. ii. i. 112 Ctesibus of Alexandria, and others, have made use of piston pumps.
1889 Science 22 Feb. 134/2 The piston-pump G is of the well-known Worthington type.
2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. x. 405 The Toepler pump..is a form of piston pump in which the reciprocating piston consists of mercury.
piston ring n. a metal ring fitted around a piston to seal the gap between the piston head and the cylinder wall.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > parts of
piston valve1735
piston rod1753
piston ring1754
piston head1824
gland1839
junk ring1839
slipper block1881
tail-rod1894
scraper ring1918
1754 Coalbrookdale Co. Ironworks Acct. in A. Raistrick Dynasty of Iron Founders (1953) 143 1 Piston Ring in four parts.
1851 Z. Colburn Locomotive Engine vi. 49 The piston rings used on the Boston and Maine [rail]road are made from a composition of 80 parts copper and 20 parts tin.
1936 Discovery Feb. 39/1 Steam leaking past the piston rings of the high-pressure cylinders.
1990 W. A. Livesey GCSE Motor Vehicle Stud. iii. 36/1 As it is not possible to make the piston a running fit in the cylinder bore and a perfect gas-tight seal, piston rings are fitted.
piston rod n. the rod of a piston, attached to the piston head.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > parts of
piston valve1735
piston rod1753
piston ring1754
piston head1824
gland1839
junk ring1839
slipper block1881
tail-rod1894
scraper ring1918
1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 420 The pressure of a column of air, equal to the diameter of the piston-rod, still presses upon it.
1830 J. F. W. Herschel Prelim. Disc. Study Nat. Philos. ii. vii. 194 The power which alternately raised and depressed the piston-rod of the engine.
1985 Survival Weaponry Dec. 6/3 The method of operation is gas tapped from a hole in the barrel which pushes back on the piston rod.
piston sampler n. = piston core sampler n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > equipment for use on seabed
creeper?a1400
tangle1882
creep1889
Petersen grab1923
snapper grab1925
sled1939
piston sampler1946
piston core sampler1947
piston corer1954
hydrocast1960
1946 Geogr. Jrnl. 107 164 The piston-sampler constructed by Dr. Kullenberg..secured practically undisturbed cores down to a maximum depth of over 3600 metres.
2000 New Phytologist 148 318/2 A sediment core was taken from a platform at the central part of the lake with a square-rod piston sampler.
piston slap n. the rocking of a loosely fitting piston against the cylinder wall; the noise resulting from this.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > movement of
piston slap1915
slap1930
1915 Boston Globe 7 Mar. 68/4 Another slight motor alteration is the lengthening of pistons, so as to give a greater bearing surface and to eliminate any possibilities of piston slap.
1962 Which? Car Suppl. Jan. 32/2 A worrying piston-slap rattle from the engine.
1988 Pilot Nov. 4/1 The gap between piston skirts and cylinder walls must be small enough to prevent loss of gas pressure and risk of metal parts clanging together (known as piston slap).
piston sleeve n. (a) a tube or hollow shaft that moves longitudinally with the piston head in a trunk engine, usually taking the place of the cross-head; = trunk n. 10d; (b) a cylindrical metal or ceramic sleeve that lines a cylinder inside which a cylinder moves.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > other parts
fire door1765
hand gear1805
throat pipe1824
cataract1832
cut-off1849
coil1852
pot-lid1856
main centre1858
trunk1859
piston sleeve1872
1872 Westinghouse Air Brake Co. (catalogue) 114 Piston Sleeve bolt. Finished iron... Piston sleeve. Cast iron.
1998 Surface & Coatings Technol. 98 897 A typical oil pump used in oil wells consists of a piston column, piston sleeve and ball valve.
2003 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 14 Nov. (Machinery section) 6 Neptune 5 models use new 1450rpm plunger pumps with fully ceramic piston sleeves.
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1796 J. Robison in E. Robinson & A. E. Musson James Watt & Steam Revol. (1969) 140 The piston springs should be bent downwards at the end next the piston rod.
1881 Manufacturer & Builder July 145/3 The auxiliary pistons are provided with steel piston springs.
piston valve n. (a) a valve in a piston, as in that of a piston pump; (b) a valve consisting of a small piston sliding back and forth in a tube, opening or closing a hole or holes in the tube wall, as alongside the cylinder of a steam engine or in a brass musical instrument (cf. sense 3b).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > parts of
piston valve1735
piston rod1753
piston ring1754
piston head1824
gland1839
junk ring1839
slipper block1881
tail-rod1894
scraper ring1918
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > valves > for regulating steam
piston valve1735
induction valve1847
cross-head brasses1865
long slide1875
trip valve-gear1903
1735 M. Clare Motion of Fluids 54 If the Bore of this Machine be full of Air only, before Water can be drawen, that Air must be exhausted; which may be done, if the Piston Valve be tight, by the ordinary Motion thereof.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 6 To improve the air-pump, Smeaton..covered the top of the barrel..by which contrivance he took off the pressure of the atmosphere from the piston-valve.
1960 A. H. Benade Horns, Strings, & Harmony viii. 181 The other brasses have a set of ‘piston valves’..which, when depressed, add a definite length of tubing to the instrument bore.
1990 Allegro Winter–Spring 12/3 In other areas of band music we find a predominance of rotary valve instruments, usually tuned in C as opposed to the piston valve instruments in B flat commonly played in the UK.
2002 Tractor & Machinery Dec. 15/1 The 10 ton piston valve compound Marshall steam roller..was restored in three months.
piston wheel n. (a) a wheel or rotating disc carrying at its outer margin one or more pistons; (b) (in a chain pump) a wheel carrying an endless chain bearing piston pumps.
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1849 Sci. Amer. 29 Dec. 118/2 The method of operating the steam stops or abutments, by a crank motion derived from the rotation of the piston-wheel.
1999 Diesel Progress (Nexis) 1 Sept. 60 Each Sauer-Sundstrand axial piston wheel motor is mounted to..final drives attached directly to the mainframe.
piston whistle n. a whistle in which the pitch of the sound is varied by means of a piston sliding in the tube, shortening or lengthening the vibrating column of air.
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1890 Cent. Dict. Piston-whistle.
1897 Mind 6 581 The range of audition..is covered by eleven tuning forks and three piston whistles.
1996 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 30 Oct. (Features section) 12 The extraordinary mechanism, with its bellows and piston whistle.
Derivatives
ˈpiston-like adj. resembling a piston in action; (of motion) resembling that of a piston.
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1855 Harper's Mag. Apr. 675/2 Half-quires of rose-hued paper, which, at every downward dab of the piston-like machine, received in the corner the impress of a wreath of roses.
1902 Academy 9 Aug. 159/2 Defoe's piston-like pen.
1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs x. 180 The Solenomyidae, with their long, tubular, mainly periostracal shell, have developed a power of darting and swimming with the piston-like foot.
1993 P. Falconer War in High Heels (BNC) 154 He moved with piston-like thrusts in and out of her juicy tunnel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
pistonv.
/ˈpɪst(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈpɪst(ə)n/ 1. intransitive. To move like a piston, esp. in a swift, forceful, or repetitive manner.
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (intransitive)]
to come and goc1384
babble1440
play1513
popple1555
dance1563
bob1568
dodge1645
waft1650
reciprocate1678
lollop1851
pump1887
piston1930
yo-yo1967
1930 R. Campbell Adamastor 80 Down the stage the dance..Tarantulates in scarlet tights For flashing arms to piston.
1967 W. Soyinka Kongi's Harvest 64 The carpenters end with a march down-stage with stiff mallet-wielding arms pistoning up in the Nazi salute.
1996 Independent 25 Oct. ii. 3/1 Chris is by the CD player, elbows pistoning back and forth, soft white fog swirling about his shaved head.
2. transitive. To direct or move with an action resembling that of a piston.
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the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the hand > with the fist > direct (a blow with the fist)
to throw a punch1902
piston1969
1969 Science 11 Apr. 160/1 For the fetus,..as it is pistoned down the birth canal and separated, some degree of hypoxic and mechanical damage to the nervous system is inescapable.
1976 ‘E. McBain’ Guns (1977) v. 118 He..pistoned a short hand punch to her shoulder.
2002 Ventura County (Calif.) Star (Nexis) 16 Apr. (Life section) e1 About 20 of us pumped our arms and pistoned our legs in the Ventura College pool.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1704
v.1930