trammel

trammel

1. a fishing net in three sections, the two outer nets having a large mesh and the middle one a fine mesh

2. Rare a fowling net

3. US a fetter or shackle, esp one used in teaching a horse to amble

4. a device for drawing ellipses consisting of a flat sheet of metal, plastic, or wood having a cruciform slot in which run two pegs attached to a beam. The free end of the beam describes an ellipse

5. another name for beam compass

6. a gauge for setting up machines correctly

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

trammel

[′tram·əl]

(engineering)

A device consisting of a bar, each of whose ends is constrained to move along one of two perpendicular lines; used in drawing ellipses and in the Rowland mounting.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

trammel

1. In a fireplace, an adjustable hook for suspending a cooking pot from a pivoted wrought-iron horizontal bar attached to one of the fireplace walls.

2. An instrument for drawing ellipses.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.