Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Shaft
Shaft
,Noun.
1.
The slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow.
His sleep, his meat, his drink, is him bereft,
That lean he wax, and dry as is a
That lean he wax, and dry as is a
shaft
. Chaucer.
A
shaft
hath three principal parts, the stele [stale], the feathers, and the head. Ascham.
2.
The long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the weapon itself; (
Fig.
) anything regarded as a shaft to be thrown or darted; as,
. shafts
of lightAnd the thunder,
Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage,
Perhaps hath spent his
Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage,
Perhaps hath spent his
shafts
. Milton.
Some kinds of literary pursuits . . . have been attacked with all the
shafts
of ridicule. V. Knox.
3.
That which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when cylindrical.
Specifically: (a) (Bot.)
The trunk, stem, or stalk of a plant.
(b)
(Zool.)
The stem or midrib of a feather.
See Illust. of Feather
. (c)
The pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill.
(d)
The part of a candlestick which supports its branches.
Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . . his
shaft
, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. Ex. xxv. 31.
(e)
The handle or helve of certain tools, instruments, etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc.
(f)
A pole, especially a Maypole.
[Obs.]
Stow.
(g)
(Arch.)
The body of a column; the cylindrical pillar between the capital and base (see Illust. of
Column
). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof. Also, the spire of a steeple. [Obs. or R.]
Gwilt.
(h)
A column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument.
Bid time and nature gently spare
The
The
shaft
we raise to thee. Emerson.
(i)
(Weaving)
A rod at the end of a heddle.
(j)
(Mach.)
A solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and intended to carry one or more wheels or other revolving parts and to transmit power or motion;
See Illust. of as, the
. shaft
of a steam engineCountershaft
.4.
(Zool.)
A humming bird (
Thaumastura cora
) having two of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in the male; – called also cora humming bird
. 5.
[Cf. G.
schacht
.] (Mining)
A well-like excavation in the earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and raising ore, for raising water, etc.
6.
A long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air shaft.
7.
The chamber of a blast furnace.
Line shaft
(Mach.)
, a main shaft of considerable length, in a shop or factory, usually bearing a number of pulleys by which machines are driven, commonly by means of countershafts; – called also
– line
, or main line
. Shaft alley
(Naut.)
, a passage extending from the engine room to the stern, and containing the propeller shaft.
– Shaft furnace
(Metal.)
, a furnace, in the form of a chimney, which is charged at the top and tapped at the bottom.
Webster 1828 Edition
Shaft
SH'AFT
,Noun.
1. An arrow; a missile weapin; as the archer and the shaft.
So loftly was the pile, a Parthian bow
Whith vigor drawn must send the shaft below. Dryden.
2. In mining, a pit or long narrow opening or entrance into a mine. [This may possibly be a different word, as in German it is written schacht, Dan. skaegte.]
3. In architecture, the shaft of a column is the body of it, between the base and the capital.
4. Any thing straight; as the shaft of a steeple, and many other things.
5. The stem or stock of a fether or quill.
6. The pole of a carriage, sometimes called tongue or neap. The thills of a chaise or geg are also called shafts.
7. The handle of a weapon.