gimbals
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gim·bal
(gĭm′bəl, jĭm′-)n.
1. A rigid frame or ring in which an object is supported by pivots. Two such rings mounted concentrically on axes at right angles to each other allow an object such as a ship's compass to remain suspended in a horizontal plane between them regardless of any motion of its support.
2. often gimbals A device consisting of gimbals.
tr.v. gim·baled, gim·bal·ing, gim·bals or gim·balled or gim·bal·ling
To supply with or support on gimbals.
[Alteration of obsolete gemel, double ring; see gimmal.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
gimbals
(ˈdʒɪmbəlz; ˈɡɪm-)pl n
(Mechanical Engineering) a device, consisting of two or three pivoted rings at right angles to each other, that provides free suspension in all planes for an object such as a gyroscope, compass, chronometer, etc. Also called: gimbal ring
[C16: variant of earlier gimmal finger ring, from Old French gemel, from Latin gemellus, diminutive of geminus twin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
gim•bals
(ˈdʒɪm bəlz, ˈgɪm-)n. (used with a sing. v.)
Sometimes, gimbal. a contrivance, consisting of a base on an axis, that permits an object, as a ship's compass, mounted on it to tilt freely in any direction. Also called gim′bal ring`.
[1570–80; alter. of gimmal]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.