derrick
a simple crane having lifting tackle slung from a boom
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
derrick
[′der·ik] (mechanical engineering)
A hoisting machine consisting usually of a vertical mast, a slanted boom, and associated tackle; may be operated mechanically or by hand.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
derrick
One of a number of types of hoisting devices, equipped with
tackle at their upper ends, that lift building materials at a construction site.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Derrick
famous hangman; eponym of modern hoisting apparatus. [Br. Hist.: Espy, 170]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Derrick
a load-lifting device. It is a cantilever boom attached by a pivot at the bottom to a mast or column and suspended from a cable at its upper end, so that it can move about its vertical axis and vary its angle to the horizontal. The load is raised and lowered by a hoist. The lifting capacity of the derrick is usually less than 10 tons; that of heavy-duty types may be as high as 300 tons.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.