trunnionn.1
/ˈtrʌnjən/, U.S. /ˈtrənjən/ a. Each of a pair of opposite gudgeons on the sides of a cannon, upon which it is pivoted upon its carriage. (Disused in large modern guns.)
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > pin or peg > on which anything turns
swivel1307
pivot1398
gudgeon1496
turning-pin1591
tampion1611
trunniona1625
pole1633
swipple1691
spill1731
millier1778
turn-pin1862
hinge-pin1881
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > trunnion
munion1611
trunniona1625
a1625 H. Mainwaring Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. 2301) Trunnions are those knobbs which come from the side of the Ordnance and doe beare them vpp vpon the Cheekes of the Carriages.
1690 J. Mackenzie Siege London-derry 17/1 The rest attending the Lord Kingston till they had broke the Trunnions, and nailed the heavier Guns.
1781 J. O. Justamond tr. B.-F.-J. Mouffle d'Angerville Private Life Lewis XV III. 389 They broke off the trunnions of the canon.
1794 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) I. 430 The Agamemnon's two twenty-four pounders are both ruined: one split up to the rings; the other with the trunnion knocked so much off, that it is useless for shot.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 26 One of the strangest of the very latest developments of modern gunnery is the abolition of the trunnions.
b. Each of any similar pair of opposite pins or pivots on which anything is supported; spec. in the oscillating steam-engine, a hollow gudgeon on each side of the cylinder, upon which it is pivoted, and through which the steam passes into and out of the cylinder; also, a single projecting pivot.
ΚΠ
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Chimney They fit two Trunnions or Knobs to the Middle of this Swipe.
1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 88 The centre of the pivots or trunnions on which it [the large metal helve] works.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 215 The bar-handle acting..upon a fulcrum or mouth-piece of solid iron, the top of which works against a trunnion under the middle of the press head.
1867 J. Hogg Microscope (ed. 6) i. ii. 82 The tripod-stand gives a firm support to the trunnions.
1873 W. S. Mayo Never Again xxii. 418 This vessel I shall hang on trunnions, and keep in constant revolution while the glass is in a liquid state.
1895 Model Steam Engine 21 In a real engine, the centres on which the cylinders oscillate are called trunnions.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > pin or peg > wooden
treenail1295
trunnion1627
mooter1867
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 4 Those plankes are made fast with good Treenailes and Trunnions of well seasoned timber.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
trunnion-hole n.
ΚΠ
1795 E. Burke Let. to Ld. Auckland in Wks. IX. p. xxii Those planks of tough and hardy oak, that used for years to brave the buffets of the Bay of Biscay, are now turned, with their warped grain and empty trunnion-holes, into very wretched pales.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) Pl. 112 Trunnion hole.
trunnion-joint n.
ΚΠ
1876 R. Routledge Discov. 19th Cent. 14 The trunnion joints are easily packed, so that no leakage takes place.
trunnion-lathe n.
ΚΠ
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Trunnion-lathe, a machine-tool for turning off the trunnions of ordnance or oscillating steam-cylinders.
trunnion-piece n.
ΚΠ
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 190 The trunnion piece is made from a solid forging, and after being bored and turned, is shrunk in its place on the gun.
trunnion-pin n.
ΚΠ
1889 P. N. Hasluck Model Engineer's Handybk. 27 The upper hole..takes the trunnion or pin on which the cylinder oscillates. Fig. 13 shows this trunnion pin.
C2.
trunnion-band n. the band on which the trunnions are fixed.
trunnion-box n. a metal case fixed over the trunnion to prevent the gun leaving the carriage.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > trunnion > trunnion-box
trunnion-box1812
1812 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) IX. 133 It is recommended by the officers of the artillery that they should be fitted with strong iron trunnion boxes, to secure the guns.
trunnion-carriage n. the top carriage of a mortar (Webster, 1911).
Categories »
trunnion-chain n. a chain for slinging a cannon by the trunnions (Webster, 1911).
Categories »
trunnion-cradle n. branching arms in certain gun-carriages, in the extremities of which the trunnions play (Webster, 1911).
trunnion-ledge n. a small ledge on the trunnion of a heavy gun, parallel with the axis, as a guide to the elevation or depression of the piece ( Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909).
trunnion-level n. = trunnion-ledge n.
Categories »
trunnion-plate n. an iron plate on the cheek of a wooden gun-carriage, on which the trunnion plays; also, a strengthening shoulder reinforcing the trunnion ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
trunnion-ring n. the raised band or moulding encircling a cannon a little in front of the trunnions.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > raised band on cannon > near trunnions
trunnion-ring1647
1647 N. Nye Art of Gunnery i. 42 The Base-Ring, the Trunnion-Ring, or Rings.
1868 C. B. Norton & W. J. Valentine Rep. to Govt. U.S. on Munitions of War at Paris Universal Exhib. 1867 81 The Whitworth gun..is manufactured of one material (except the trunnion-ring).
trunnion-rule n. an instrument for determining the distance from the trunnions to the base-ring ( Cent. Dict. Suppl.).
trunnion-sight n. a front sight placed on the trunnion-band.
trunnion-square n. an instrument for determining whether the trunnions are perpendicular to the axis of the gun.
trunnion-valve n. a steam-valve situated in or attached to the trunnion of an oscillating cylinder.
Derivatives
ˈtrunnioned adj. provided with trunnions (Webster, 1864).
ˈtrunnionless adj. having no trunnions.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [adjective] > type of artillery by construction
chamber-bored1669
breeched1830
wire-wound1865
multicharge1883
chase-hooped1886
trunnionless1890
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 26 A trunnionless gun has a curious crippled look about it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† trunnionn.2
Obsolete.
In God's trunnion, used as an asseveration or oath.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > miscellaneous
depardieuc1290
by God's namec1330
by God's roodc1330
by God's eyes1340
God's soul1345
for God's sakec1386
cock's soulc1405
God's armsc1405
by God's dooma1425
(by) (God's) nailsa1500
by God's fast?1515
God's lord?1520
God's sacramenta1529
God's dominusc1530
by God's crown1535
God's bread1535
God's gown1535
God's guts1543
of God's word?1550
God's hat1569
Gods me1570
marry (a) Godc1574
God's malt1575
God's ludd?1577
God's sacring?1577
God's sokinges?1577
trunnion?1577
(by) God's will1579
God's teeth1580
'Shearta1596
God's light1598
by God's me1599
'Snails1599
'Slight1600
God's diggers1602
'Swill1602
od's mea1616
od's my lifea1616
'Sprecious1631
'Sbores1640
odso1660
for sake('s) sake1665
Gad's precious1677
heartlikins1677
od1681
'Sdiggers1687
(Lord) love you (also your heart)1707
God's fury1748
heartikins1751
S'fire1791
nom de Dieu1848
'strewth1892
Lord lumme1895
lumme1898
?1577 Misogonus in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 251 Gods trunnion Alison go thy wayes & fatch me hether my gose spitt.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2020).
<
n.1a1625
n.2?1577