Gimbal, pronounced GHIM-bul, is a noun referring to a device that keeps an object level despite movement. The word originates from 'gemel', a 16th-century finger-ring meaning 'twin'.
Gimbal (GHIM-bul) is a noun for a device allowing a body to incline freely or remain level when its support is tipped, often called a gimbal ring. It originates from a 16th-century finger-ring called 'gemel', meaning 'twin'.
| Front | gimbal \GHIM-bul\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun A device that permits a body to incline freely in any direction or suspends it so that it will remain level when its support is tipped — usually used in plural; called also gimbal ring. [One place you might encounter gimbals is on a ship, where they are used to keep compasses and other things level with the horizon in contrast to the pitch and roll of the vessel at sea. The word "gimbal" is an alteration of "gemel," a word for a type of finger-ring popular in the 16th century that could be divided into two separate rings. The word comes from Anglo-French "gemel" ("twin"), which in turn comes from Latin "gemellus," a diminutive of "geminus," the Latin word for "twin."] "When the vessel turns upright in the ocean, much of the furniture and equipment swings on gimbals so that it is in the right place when the ship becomes perfectly vertical." — From an article by Gary Robbins in The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 25, 2012 |
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