millwheel

Thân thiện

The old millwheel turns slowly in the clear stream.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A water wheel used to drive machinery in a mill: A large, circular wheel, typically made of wood or metal, designed to be turned by flowing water. Its rotational power is used to operate the machinery inside a mill, such as grinding stones for grain or saws for timber.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The old mill's millwheel turned steadily in the river current.
  • They are restoring the historic millwheel to demonstrate how grain was ground in the 18th century.
  • The power generated by the millwheel was essential for the village's economy.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Technical Context: The term is primarily used in historical, technical, or descriptive contexts related to pre-industrial or early industrial machinery and heritage sites.
  • The engineering of the Roman millwheel was surprisingly advanced for its time.

Variants and Related Words

• Waterwheel (noun): A more general term for any wheel turned by water, which may or may not be part of a mill. A millwheel is a specific type of waterwheel.
• Mill race (noun): The channel of water that directs flow onto or against the millwheel.
• Millpond (noun): The reservoir of water created to supply the millwheel.

Synonyms

• Water wheel: The closest direct synonym, though it is a broader category.
• Overshot wheel / Undershot wheel: Technical terms specifying how water contacts the wheel.

Related Phrases

• To turn like a millwheel: An idiomatic expression suggesting steady, relentless, or circular motion.
  • His thoughts turned like a millwheel, going over the same problem again and again.

Học thuật

Noun

1. water wheel that is used to drive machinery in a mill

Từ đồng nghĩa

• mill wheel