'Wheel' : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: 'Wheel'	by the DICT Development Group
6 results for 'Wheel'
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Wheel \Wheel\, n. [OE. wheel, hweol, AS. hwe[a2]l, hweogul, hweowol; akin to D. wiel, Icel. hv[c7]l, Gr. ky`klos, Skr. cakra; cf. Icel. hj[d3]l, Dan. hiul, Sw. hjul. [fb]218. Cf. {Cycle}, {Cyclopedia}.] 1. A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc. The gasping charioteer beneath the wheel Of his own car. --Dryden. 2. Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a wheel. Specifically: (a) A spinning wheel. See under {Spinning}. (b) An instrument of torture formerly used. His examination is like that which is made by the rack and wheel. --Addison. Note: This mode of torture is said to have been first employed in Germany, in the fourteenth century. The criminal was laid on a cart wheel with his legs and arms extended, and his limbs in that posture were fractured with an iron bar. In France, where its use was restricted to the most atrocious crimes, the criminal was first laid on a frame of wood in the form of a St. Andrew's cross, with grooves cut transversely in it above and below the knees and elbows, and the executioner struck eight blows with an iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometimes finishing by two or three blows on the chest or stomach, which usually put an end to the life of the criminal, and were hence called coups-de-grace -- blows of mercy. The criminal was then unbound, and laid on a small wheel, with his face upward, and his arms and legs doubled under him, there to expire, if he had survived the previous treatment. --Brande. (c) (Naut.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering. (d) (Pottery) A potter's wheel. See under {Potter}. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. --Jer. xviii. 3. Turn, turn, my wheel! This earthen jar A touch can make, a touch can mar. --Longfellow. (e) (Pyrotechny) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases. (f) (Poetry) The burden or refrain of a song. Note: [bd]This meaning has a low degree of authority, but is supposed from the context in the few cases where the word is found.[b8] --Nares. You must sing a-down a-down, An you call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it! --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Wheel \Wheel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wheeled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wheeling}.] 1. To convey on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle; as, to wheel a load of hay or wood. 2. To put into a rotatory motion; to cause to turn or revolve; to cause to gyrate; to make or perform in a circle. [bd]The beetle wheels her droning flight.[b8] --Gray. Now heaven, in all her glory, shone, and rolled Her motions, as the great first mover's hand First wheeled their course. --Milton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Wheel \Wheel\, v. i. 1. To turn on an axis, or as on an axis; to revolve; to more about; to rotate; to gyrate. The moon carried about the earth always shows the same face to us, not once wheeling upon her own center. --Bentley. 2. To change direction, as if revolving upon an axis or pivot; to turn; as, the troops wheeled to the right. Being able to advance no further, they are in a fair way to wheel about to the other extreme. --South. 3. To go round in a circuit; to fetch a compass. Then wheeling down the steep of heaven he flies. --Pope. 4. To roll forward. Thunder mixed with hail, Hail mixed with fire, must rend the Egyptian sky, And wheel on the earth, devouring where it rolls. --Milton.
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]:
wheel n. [from slang `big wheel' for a powerful person] A person who has an active {wheel bit}. "We need to find a wheel to unwedge the hung tape drives." (See {wedged}, sense 1.) The traditional name of security group zero in {BSD} (to which the major system-internal users like {root} belong) is `wheel'. Some vendors have expanded on this usage, modifying Unix so that only members of group `wheel' can {go root}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
wheel [slang "big wheel" for a powerful person] A person who has an active {wheel bit}. "We need to find a wheel to unwedge the hung tape drives." (See {wedged}). [{Jargon File}]
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Wheel (Heb. galgal; rendered "wheel" in Ps. 83:13, and "a rolling thing" in Isa. 17:13; R.V. in both, "whirling dust"). This word has been supposed to mean the wild artichoke, which assumes the form of a globe, and in autumn breaks away from its roots, and is rolled about by the wind in some places in great numbers.