sternwheel en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English stern 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 sternwheel From stern + wheel.
Meanings
-
A paddle wheel positioned at the stern of a vessel.
The current was more rapid now, the steamer seemed at her last gasp, the stern–wheel flopped languidly, and I caught myself listening on tiptoe for the next beat of the boat, for in sober truth I expected the wretched thing to give up every moment.
1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sternwheels | Number=Plur | lexicographic |