Definition

1. Noun:
   • A pin or bolt forming the pivot of a hinge: A pintle is a cylindrical pin or bolt upon which another part, such as a hinge or a rudder, pivots or swings.
   • A vertical pin or bolt used as a pivot: More broadly, it can refer to any upright pin serving as an axis for rotation.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The gate swings smoothly because the pintle in the hinge is well-oiled.
  • The rudder is attached to the boat's sternpost by a strong pintle.

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Engineering Context: In mechanical engineering, a "pintle" often specifically denotes the male part of a pinned hinge or a pivot joint.
  • The assembly requires aligning the gudgeon (the socket) with the pintle.
• Marine/Nautical Context: In boating, a pintle is a pin on which a rudder pivots.
  • The pintle-and-gudgeon system is a classic method for hanging a rudder.

Variants and Related Words

• Gudgeon (n): The socket or eye into which a pintle fits to form a pivot joint.
  • The gudgeon was welded to the stern frame.
• Pivot (n): The central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates.
  • The entire mechanism turns on a single steel pivot.

Synonyms

• Pivot pin: A pin serving as a pivot.
• Bolt: A type of fastener that can function as a pivot.
• Axle: A shaft on which a wheel rotates (conceptually similar as an axis of rotation).

Related Phrases

• Pintle hook (n): A towing hook that uses a pintle as its pivotal component. (Listed as a related compound term).
  • The trailer was secured with a pintle hook.

Noun

1. a pin or bolt forming the pivot of a hinge