Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A pin or gudgeon, especially either of two small cylindrical projections on a cannon forming an axis on which it pivots.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One of the cylindrical projections on the sides of a cannon, cast or forged in one piece with the cannon itself, which support it on its carriage. In the United States artillery service the diameter of the trunnion in smooth-bore guns has generally been equal to the diameter of the bore. See cut under
howitzer . - n. In steam-engines, a hollow gudgeon on each side of an oscillating cylinder, which supports the cylinder, and through which steam is received and exhausted.
Wiktionary
- n. One of the short stubby bearings on either side of a cannon; a gudgeon.
- n. A similar rotational bearing comprising a rotating arc or ring sliding in the groove of a stationary arc, used in machinery to allow a workpiece to be moved relative to a fixed tool.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Gun.) A cylindrical projection on each side of a piece, whether gun, mortar, or howitzer, serving to support it on the cheeks of the carriage. See
Illust. of cannon. - n. (Steam Engine) A gudgeon on each side of an oscillating steam cylinder, to support it. It is usually tubular, to convey steam.
Etymologies
- From French trognon ("core, stump"). (Wiktionary)
- French trognon, stump. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“a point from the end equal to the semi-diameter of the trunnion, which is marked on each branch.”
Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition.
“In mortar-vessels other expedients are resorted to, such as trunnion-sights, or a white line painted on the mortar-bed parallel to the axis of the bore when level; but the first plan is preferable.”
Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition.
“The guns 'teams of oxen and horses were being led back into the shelter of the oaks while squads of gunners hoisted the hugely heavy cannon barrels out of their rear travelling trunnion holes and moved them into the forward fighting holes where other men used hammers to fasten the capsquares over the newly placed trunnions.”
“The United States siege carriage of the 1860's had no extra trunnion holes, but a "traveling bed" was provided where the gun was cradled in position 2 or 3 feet back of its firing position.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“Some late eighteenth century field and siege carriages had a second pair of trunnion holes a couple of feet back from the regular holes, and the cannon was shifted to the rear holes where the weight was better distributed for traveling.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“The trunnion sight, a graduated sight attached to the trunnion, could be used when the muzzle had to be elevated so high that it blocked the gunner's view of the target.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“Use of tangent and trunnion sights brought gunnery further into the realm of mathematical science; the telescopic sight came about the middle of the nineteenth century; gunners were developing into technicians whose job was merely to load the piece and set the instruments as instructed by officers in fire control posts some distance away from the gun.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“Basic proportions for the carriage were obtained by measuring (1) the distance from trunnion to base ring of the gun, (2) the diameter of the base ring, and (3) the diameter of the second reinforce ring.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“The lengths of the trunnions are measured with the foot-rule, and the diameters of the rimbases by that of the exterior rim of the trunnion-gauge.”
Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition.
“The remaining parts of the brackets are the trunnion-holes _b_, steps _c_, quarter-rounds”
Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition.
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘trunnion’.
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phrontistery-t
from phrontistery.info
tabacosis, tabanid, tabaret, tabati?re, tabby, tabefaction, tabellary, tabellion, tabernacle, tabernacular, tabescent, tabific and 930 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2057 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 569 more...
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Astronomical Words
Words used in Astronomy
perihelion, perigee, apoapsis, periastron, apastron, apsis, zenith, aphelion, perturbations, barycenter, equinox, nadir and 21 more...
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Les Misérables
A selection of words from the epic by Victor Hugo
perquisites, dispensations, execrate, spikenard, fireplaace, effeminate foppery, delaine, hoarfrost, lackadaisicalness, ort, geldings, milch and 103 more...
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The Aubrey/Maturin List I'm Gonna Mak...
I'm wading through Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels one by one, and someday, I'll wade through them again and list all the words I learned while reading them.
Edit: I started ma...studdingsail, carronade, mumchance, grumlin-futtocks, crosscat-harpings, holystone, sennit, orlop, orchitis, negus, kevel, altumal and 1112 more...
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Castles and Keeps
Shamelessly ripped off from this site and others (to be named hereinafter). (Fair warning: for my own edification, I may add definitions/comments from the site, but you might want to just go there ...
abutment, adulterine, allure, angle-spur, apse, arbalest, arbalestier, arbalist, arcade, arch, armoury, arrow slit and 410 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, T
torquate, thalassocracy, toothsome, travois, tempestuous, tone, tincture, tripwire, tether, trill, tenacious, travesty and 355 more...
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Historical Military Terms of Interest
Many (if not all) of these terms were selected from A pocket dictionary, for military officers, containing a definition of all the tactical terms now in use, with other matter belonging to the art ...
zig-zags, yeoman, xerxes, xeiff, xenophon, worm, watch-word, windage, wheeling, wad-hock, wadding, volley and 242 more...
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Cormac McCarthy
words from Cormac McCarthy books.
rucked, pinchbeck, cinderblock, sumac, pokeweed, frograils, fishplates, bolo, rictus, polyp, neap, flitch and 58 more...
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Words That Wordie Has Taught Me
New words that I've learned on Wordie.
contronym, callipygian, apostate, nyctophobia, transliteration, copyleft, mudita, inchoate, manualism, ithyphallic, diacritics, nastygram and 26 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for trunnion.
chained_bear "TRUNNIONS, two wings projecting from the sides of a piece of ordnance, by which it is supported upon its carriage." (citation in Historical Military Terms list description) Oct 9, 2008
reesetee Really. I mean, if you're going to talk about someone having their trunnions beaten off, you should know what you're talking about. ;-) Feb 15, 2008
chained_bear "trunnions
Short horizontal bars on both sides of a cannon by which it is mounted to the gun-carriage and that provide the axis upon which the cannon pivots when being aimed."
A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales, 436
Whew. I figured I should really know what the heck these are. Feb 15, 2008
reesetee Agreed. Feb 14, 2008
sonofgroucho What a great word. Feb 14, 2008
chained_bear "...all the guns but three were made of painted wood and of the others two had had their trunnions beaten off, so that they could not be pointed with any sort of accuracy, while the third, an archaic brass piece, had once been spiked, and the person who bored out its touch-hole had made a sad botch of it."
—Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 323 Feb 14, 2008