swash plate

or swashplate

noun

, Machinery.

1. an inclined circular plate on a rotating shaft for transferring force and motion to or from parts reciprocating in a direction parallel to the axis of shaft rotation.

swash plate

noun

1. engineering a collar or face plate on a shaft that is inclined at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation and either imparts reciprocating motion to push rods parallel to the shaft axis as in a swash plate pump or, conversely, converts reciprocating motion to rotation as in a swash plate motor Also calledwobble plate

Word History and Origins

Origin of swash plate¹

from swash (obsolete n) an oblique figure or ornament, from aswash: see swash letter