释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024bas•cule (bas′kyo̅o̅l),USA pronunciation n. [Civ. Engin.]- Civil Engineeringa device operating like a balance or seesaw, esp. an arrangement of a movable bridge (bas′cule bridge′) by which the rising floor or section is counterbalanced by a weight.
- 1670–80; French: name for a number of seesawlike mechanical devices, Middle French bacule, noun, nominal derivative of baculer to strike on the buttocks (probably origin, originally, to land on one's buttocks), equivalent. to bas down (see base2) + -culer, verb, verbal derivative of cul rump, buttocks (see culet); -s- by false analysis as bas(se) adjective, adjectival + cule taken as a feminine noun, nominal
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: bascule /ˈbæskjuːl/ n Also called: balance bridge, counterpoise bridge a bridge with a movable section hinged about a horizontal axis and counterbalanced by a weight- a movable roadway forming part of such a bridge
Etymology: 17th Century: from French: seesaw, from bas low + cul rump; see base², culet |