Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
freewheel en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *preyH-
Proto-Indo-European *-ós
Proto-Indo-European *priHós
Proto-Germanic *frijwaz
Proto-West Germanic *friu
Old English frēo
Middle English fre
English free
Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup.
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂
Proto-Germanic *hweulō
Old English hwēol
Middle English whel
English wheel
English freewheel
From free + wheel.
Meanings
-
A device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft.
-
The mode or state of operation thus produced: Synonym of neutral.
Forms
Translations (12)
nl vrijloopnaaf (device) · pl wolnobieg (device) · de Freilauf (device) · ca pinyó lliure (device) · es embrague rebasante (device) · ru обго́нная му́фта (device) · vi bánh răng (device) · fr roue libre (device) · ru му́фта свобо́дного хо́да (device) · fi vapaaratas (device) · es piñón libre (device) · ko 프리휠 (device)
freewheel en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *preyH-
Proto-Indo-European *-ós
Proto-Indo-European *priHós
Proto-Germanic *frijwaz
Proto-West Germanic *friu
Old English frēo
Middle English fre
English free
Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup.
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂
Proto-Germanic *hweulō
Old English hwēol
Middle English whel
English wheel
English freewheel
From free + wheel.
Meanings
-
(intransitive) Of a gear, to continue spinning after disengagement.
-
(intransitive) Of a cyclist, to ride a bicycle without pedalling, e.g. downhill.
On her elderly bicycle with the basketwork carrier on the handle-bars, Dorothy free-wheeled down the hill, doing mental arithmetic with three pounds nineteen and fourpence--her entire stock of money until next quarter-day.
1935, George Orwell, chapter 3, in A Clergyman’s Daughter:
-
Of a motorist, to operate a motor vehicle which is coasting without power, e.g. downhill.
Silently and gracefully I free-wheeled across the path of three juggernauts, [...] glided across the hard shoulder and came to rest halfway up a grass bank.
1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 78:
-
(broadly, figuratively) To operate free from constraints.
Forms
Deriveds
freewheeler
Descendants
freewheelen
Relateds
neutral · overdrive