gimbal

English

Etymology

Alteration of gemel, from Old French gemel, jumel (“twin”) (French jumeau), from Latin gemellus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪmbəl/, /ˈɡɪmbəl/
• Rhymes: -ɪmbəl
• Homophone: gimble

Noun

gimbal (plural gimbals)

1. A device for suspending something, such as a ship's compass, so that it will remain level when its support is tipped.
   • 1902, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in Typhoon‎^[1]:

     The lamp wriggled in its gimbals, the barometer swung in circles, the table altered its slant every moment […]

   • 1934, A. E. W. Mason, “The Chronometer,” Chapter II, in Dilemmas, London: Hodder & Stoughton,^[2]

     He lifted the chronometer off the gimbals on which it was slung in the mahogany case and showed the number engraved upon the bottom.

Derived terms

• gimbal lock

Translations

device for suspending something

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: кардан (bg) m (kardan)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 平衡環／平衡环 (pínghénghuán)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: kardano
• Finnish: gimbaali (fi), vakaaja (fi)
• French: cardan (fr) m, suspension à la Cardan f
• German: kardanische Aufhängung f
• Greek: γκίμπαλ (el) n (gkímpal)
• Hebrew: מִתְלַיִם (he) m pl (mitlayim)
• Italian: sospensione cardanica f
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: zawieszenie Cardana n, kardan (pl) m
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: cardán m

Verb

gimbal (third-person singular simple present gimbals, present participle gimballing or gimbaling, simple past and past participle gimballed or gimbaled)

1. (transitive) To suspend using a gimbal or gimbals.
   • 1918, Richard Dehan (Clotilde Graves), That Which Hath Wings, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Chapter 32,^[3]

     […] he conned his course in masterly fashion by aid of the roller-map, protected by its transparent, rainproof casing, or the compass, clock, altimeter, and other instruments gimballed in the wooden frame in front of the pilot’s seat.

2. (transitive, aerospace) To move a reaction engine about on a gimbal so as to obtain pitching and yawing correction moments.
3. (intransitive) To swivel, move on an axis.

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡimˈbal/, [ɡɪmˈbal]
• Hyphenation: gim‧bal

Noun

gimbál (Baybayin spelling ᜄᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜎ᜔)

1. great noise; resounding noise
2. great confusion; great disturbance (caused by loud sounds or noises)
3. kettledrum

Derived terms

• gimbalin
• gumimbal
• kagimbal-gimbal
• makagimbal

 

Adjective

gimbál (Baybayin spelling ᜄᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜎ᜔)

1. greatly disturbed (by loud noises)