treadle
1 of 2noun
trea·dle ˈtre-dᵊl 
: a swiveling or lever device pressed by the foot to drive a machine
treadle
2 of 2verb
treadled; treadling ˈtred-liŋ
ˈtre-dᵊl-iŋ
intransitive verb
: to operate a treadle
transitive verb
: to operate (a machine) by a treadle
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 19 Sep. 2019 His only machinery was a buffing machine and a sewing table with a treadle. Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2019 The treadle model #15 is now nearing antique status, being made from 1895 to 1995. Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 19 Sep. 2019 Tenzi started giving sewing lessons last year, teaching the class using old-fashioned treadle machines because City of Hope wasn’t on the electrical grid. Shay Maunz, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2019 Tetrev’s father helped build out the space, which features a treadle-type pottery wheel in the window of the storefront. Caitlin Mullen, chicagotribune.com, 12 June 2018 British dentists in the 1970s, when power outages were a regular occurrence, might have kept an old treadle drill in the cupboard to add fillings without using electricity. Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 7 June 2018 Stoppelman explained that individual warp threads, which make up the longitudinal pattern in woven cloth, are put on a roller and then threaded individually through wire heddles, which are attached to a shaft and then to a foot treadle. Annie Gentile, Courant Community, 22 Mar. 2018 See More
Noun
During the Civil War, a treadle machine, as well as hand sewing, provided the extensive wardrobe needed by the soldiers. Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 19 Sep. 2019 His only machinery was a buffing machine and a sewing table with a treadle. Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2019 The treadle model #15 is now nearing antique status, being made from 1895 to 1995. Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 19 Sep. 2019 Tenzi started giving sewing lessons last year, teaching the class using old-fashioned treadle machines because City of Hope wasn’t on the electrical grid. Shay Maunz, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2019 Tetrev’s father helped build out the space, which features a treadle-type pottery wheel in the window of the storefront. Caitlin Mullen, chicagotribune.com, 12 June 2018 British dentists in the 1970s, when power outages were a regular occurrence, might have kept an old treadle drill in the cupboard to add fillings without using electricity. Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 7 June 2018 Stoppelman explained that individual warp threads, which make up the longitudinal pattern in woven cloth, are put on a roller and then threaded individually through wire heddles, which are attached to a shaft and then to a foot treadle. Annie Gentile, Courant Community, 22 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English tredel step of a stair, from Old English, from tredan
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1891, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Kids Definition
treadle
noun
trea·dle ˈtre-dᵊl
: a device worked by the foot to drive a machine