▪ I. pulley, n.1
(ˈpʊlɪ)
Forms: see below.
[ME. a. OF. polie (c 1150 in Godef. Compl.), mod.F. poulie = Genevese dial. polie, Prov. polieja, It. puleggia, Sp. polea, Pg. polè; also med.L. polea, polegia, orig. a neuter pl. of med.L. polegium (Prov. poulejo, obs. It. puleggio):—Romanic type *polidium, prob.:—Gr. *πολίδιον little pivot or axis, dim. of πόλος pole n.2 See G. Paris in Romania XXVII. 484. Cf. also MLG. polleie, -eide, -eige, -ege, -eine, a windlass, the wheel of a well (Lexer). The variant polyve, polyff may have been due to mistaken analogy with such words as hastive, hasty, jolif, jolly, mastiff, masty, of which the two forms were used together in 14–15th c.
Others have suggested as the source Gr. *πωλίδιον, dim. of πῶλος a colt; cf. OF. poulain a colt, also = pulley n.2, and poulier a pully.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 4–5 poley, poyle, pl. poliees, poylleyes; polye, pole, 5–6 polley, polie, 6 polly.
| 1324 Acc. Exch., K.R. Bd. 165 No. 2 lf. 17 b, Pro vij Haussers et aliis cordis ad poleys. Ibid. 20 In ij Ruellis seu Poleyis ereis. 1481 Polley [see B. 1]. 1485 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 36 Poleis with Stroppes. Ibid. 37 Poles of iij sheves and colkes of brasse. 1495 Ibid. 201 Polyes. 1495 Ibid. 204 Poliees with iiij colkes of Brasse. 1497 Ibid. 247 Snachepoylleyes & other smale poyles. 1548–77 Vicary Anat. vii. (1888) 49 Lyke vnto a Polly to drawe water with. 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 116 b, To the top of the masts were fastned polies with cordes. |
(
β) 4–5
puly, 5
pulie,
pl. -eis;
pouley,
pwlly, 5–9
pully, 6
poolly,
poully,
-ie,
powley,
pl. pulleis;
Sc. pillie,
pl. -eis; 6–7
pullie,
-ye, 6–8
pooly, 7
pullee,
pl. -eies; 6–
pulley.
| 1396 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 123 Et in ij trendelys..et mangnum puly, 10d. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxviii. 140 To euery ladder moost be ordeyned thre pouleyes. 1497 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. I. 358 For tua schyffis with xiij puleis. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 139 Some fyll the boket with a rope slydyng in a pooly. 1528–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 347 Paide for a pully for the sacrament and for a roppe to the same. 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. G ij, In forme of a poully. 1545 Aberdeen Regr. XIX. (Jam.), Tua pilleis pertening to the wobteris craft. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. Pref., Their Compas, their Carde, their Pulleis, their Ankers, were founde by the skill of witty Geometers. 1568 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 130 To William, torner, for turnynge of the powleys. 1603 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 281 For lainge of a geaste and makinge of the pullee. 1603–4 in Swayne Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896) 154 A Candlestake and pullye, 13s. 4d. 1622 Peacham Compl. Gent. ix. (1634) 73 Pulleies and Cranes of all sorts. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Plover, A Pooly or Cord to carry it. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 11 The pulley is the third mechanic power. |
(
γ) 4–5
polyve,
-ive, 6
polyff.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 176 Ther may no man out of the place it dryue For noon engyn of wyndas ne polyue [v. rr. poliue, palyue]. 1465 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 201 Item [paid] for iij. grete polyves, ij.s. ? a 1500 Debate Carpenters Tools 155 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 84 Than be-spake the polyff, With gret stronge wordes and styffe. |
B. Signification.
1. a. One of the simple mechanical powers, consisting of a grooved wheel mounted in a block, so that a cord or the like may pass over it; used for changing the direction of power,
esp. for raising weights by pulling downward. Also, a combination of such wheels in a
block (
n. 5), or system of blocks in a
tackle, by means of which the power is increased.
fixed pulley, a pulley the block of which is fixed.
frame pulley, a pulley in which the wheels or sheaves are fixed in a frame.
| 1324 [see A. α]. c 1386 [see A. γ]. 1426–7 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 465 Pro j puly pro feretro, xijd. 1481 Caxton Reynard xxxiii. (Arb.) 96 The welle where the two bokettys henge by one corde rennyng thurgh one polley. 1485–6 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 45 Sengle poleis with Colkes of brasse. 1574 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 240 Pulleyes for the Clowdes and curteynes. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 42 They haue a Pully..wher⁓with they hoyse vp the Corne to the very Rafters of the house. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 170 A Basket which they let down by a Rope that runs in a Pully. 1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 68 In the pulley, as in the lever, time is lost as power is gained. |
† b. Used as an instrument of torture, or part of one.
Obs.| 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. ii. iii. (1886) 18 The complaint of anie one man of credit is sufficient to bring a poore woman to the racke or pullie. 1641 Milton Animadv. 15 A little pulley would have stretch't your wise and charitable frame it may be three inches further. a 1711 Ken Blandina Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 520 Then on the Rack the Saint they stretch, Her Limbs with Screws and Pulleys retch. |
2. A wheel or drum fixed on a shaft and turned by a belt or the like for the application or transmission of power; usually used so as to increase speed or power.
With specific prefix, as
brake-pulley (a wheel acting as a brake),
driving-pulley, etc.; also
cone-pulley (
cone n.1 16),
dead pulley (
dead a. 23),
differential pulley (
differential a. 4 b),
fast pulley,
fast and loose pulleys (
fast a. 11),
grip pulley (
grip n.1 9),
guide pulley (
guide n. 14),
loose pulley (
loose a. 9); also
conical pulley = cone-pulley;
crowning pulley, a pulley-wheel with convex rim, which tends to keep the belt in place by centrifugal force;
parting pulley,
split pulley, a pulley-wheel made in two parts for convenience in mounting.
| 1619 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 174 P{supd} for mendinge the pullies for the bell ropes, viij d. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 323/1 The Struck Wheel, or Pulley [of a Jack], that about which the Chain or Rope goes to turn the Broach about. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 50 They are apt to permit a slipping of the bands on the surface of the driving-drums or pulleys. 1873 J. Richards Wood-working Factories 67 The brake pulley must always be placed on the slack side of the belt, where the bottom pulley is the driver. 1884 W. S. B. M{supc}Laren Spinning (ed. 2) 164 The driving belt is first taken round a fixed pulley, round a guide pulley, the driving pulley, and finally round another guide pulley. 1902 Daily Chron. 29 Sept. 9/4 The cable cars..were stopped..owing to a grip-pulley breaking at the..cable station. |
3. fig. from senses 1 and 2.
| 1581 N. Burne Disput. 109 The Cauuinist maist bauld of al vil afferme..that ve be certane pilleis, or ingeynis ar liftit vp to heauin be ane incomprehensibil maner. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 12 They are..pullies to draw on their..destenies. 1691 Hartcliffe Virtues 41 We must examine all the windings and Labyrinths of our whole Frame, and see, by what Pullies and Wheels all the operations of our Minds are performed. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit., Clubs Wks. (Bohn) III. 93, I prize the mechanics of conversation. 'Tis pulley and lever and screw. |
4. Anat. a. The grooved articulating surface of certain joints; a trochlea.
b. A cartilaginous loop by which the direction of a tendon passing through it is changed.
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
pulley-block,
pulley-case,
pulley-chain,
pulley-cord,
pulley-rope,
pulley-shaft,
pulley-shell,
pulley-spoke,
pulley-stand,
pulley-twine,
pulley-wheel; also
pulley-box, (
a) a broad pulley-wheel, a drum or cylinder; (
b) in the draw-loom, a frame containing the pulleys for guiding the tail-cords (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875);
pulley-check, a contrivance which prevents the return of the cord through the block;
pulley-clutch, (
a) a clasping device for attaching a pulley-block to an overhead rafter or the like (Knight); (
b) a clutch by which a loose pulley is connected with the shaft (Funk);
pulley-cone, a cone grooved and rotating on its axis, forming a set of pulley-wheels of different sizes;
pulley-drum, the block or shell in which the sheave or sheaves are mounted;
pulley-frame: see
quot.: also called
gallows-frame;
pulley-gauge, a tide-gauge in which a cord, having a float at one end and a weight at the other, runs over a wheel connected with the pointer;
pulley-mortise = chase-mortise: see
chase n.3 7 and
mortise n. 2; hence
pulley-mortised a.;
pulley-piece,
stile, one of the vertical side-pieces of a window sash-frame, in which the pulleys are pivoted;
pulley-sheave (
† Sc. pillie-scheve), the sheave or grooved roller over which a rope runs in a pulley-block;
pulley-stone: see
quot. 1859.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 311 To the *pulley block V is hung the counterpoise W. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xxxi. 22 Wrought-Iron Pulley Block, with cast-brass or iron sheaves. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 364 Cords passing from this *pulley box..over guides,..communicate the motion..to the bobbins. |
| 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm II. 293 The *pulley-case is moved in the slide. |
| 1903 Harvard Psychol. Stud. I. 417 A disc..about 50c. in diameter, rotating on a vertical pivot, was driven by a *pulley-cone underneath mounted on the same spindle. |
| 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 40 *Pulley-frames, the gearing above a pit, upon which the pulleys are supported. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xi. 117 Our tide-register was on board the vessel, a simple *pulley-gauge, arranged with a wheel and index. |
| 1842 Gwilt Archit. §2019 The lower tier of timbers..are either notched to them, or are what is called *pulley mortised into them. |
| 1827 Fowler Corr. 577 (MS.) Oak sills and *pulley-pieces. |
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xiv. 192 A little Horse at the End of the *Pulley-Rope. |
| 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 51 In this way, the *pulley-shaft of the teagle would require too great a speed. |
| 1566 Inv. R. Wardr. (1815) 169 (Jam.) Item, fyve *pillie schevis of braiss, ane of thame garnesit with irne. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 593 The face of the *pulley-stile of every sash-frame ought to project about three-eighths of an inch beyond the edge of the brick-work. |
| 1851 Mantell Petrifactions i. §2. 84 The curious fossils called, in Derbyshire, Screw, or *Pulley-stones. 1859 Page Handbk. Geol. Terms, Pulley-stones, a familiar term for the hollow casts or moulds of the joints and stems of encrinites. |
| 1373 in Riley Lond. Mem. (1868) 369, 2 wyndyng poleys, 2 skeynes de *poletwyne. |
| 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 230 A *pully-wheel, fastened to the arbor or axis of the hand that points to the hour. 1956 G. Taylor Silver vii. 154 Dish Rings... The earliest type is shaped like a pulley-wheel. 1967 Antiquaries Jrnl. XLVII. 227 Globular flagon with moulded base⁓angle and pulley-wheel rim. |
▪ II. ˈpulley, n.2 [Alteration of puleyn, a. F. poulain, in same sense (1280 in Godef.), transferred use of poulain colt; in form confused with pulley n.1 In the same way the Promp. Parv. explains
poleyne as ‘
troclea’, a pulley, and
Godef. VI. 347 erroneously explains
OF. poulain as ‘poulie’, which is corrected in the
Compl.]
A kind of ladder used by brewers' draymen in lowering barrels into a cellar; also called a slide or skid, and in the north of England a gantry. Also
attrib. as
pulley-rope.
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. v. 26 It is a pully; by a pully-rope wine is let down into a cellar. 1901 Law Jrnl. Rep. LXX. Chancery 680/2 It was necessary to attach to the tailboard of the dray a slide, or what in the trade is called a pulley, down which the cask was slid. |
▪ III. ˈpulley, v. [f. pulley n.1: cf. F. poulier.] 1. trans. To raise or hoist with or as with a pulley. Also
fig.| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 41 His hairie tuft, or louelocke he leaues on the top of his crowne, to be pulld vp, or pullied vp to heauen by. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) I. 24 A mine of white stone..is between a white clay and chalk at first, but being pullied up, with the open air it receives a crusty kind of hardness. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 15 These of themselves are not sufficient to pully man up to eternal happiness. |
2. To furnish or fit with a pulley; to use with or work by means of a pulley. Hence
pulleyed (
ˈpʊlɪd)
ppl. a.| 1767 Jago Edge-Hill iii. 526 Their heavy Sides th' inflated Bellows heave, Tugg'd by the pulley'd Line. 1865 E. Burritt Walk Land's End 164 There is no..hydraulic contrivance nor pulleyed hoist to facilitate the ascent. |