axletree

American  

[ak-suhl-tree] / ˈæk səlˌtri /

noun

1. a bar, fixed crosswise under an animal-drawn vehicle, with a rounded spindle at each end upon which a wheel rotates.

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axletree British  

/ ˈæksəlˌtriː /

noun

1. a bar fixed across the underpart of a wagon or carriage that has rounded ends on which the wheels revolve

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Etymology

Origin of axletree

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; axle, tree

Example Sentences

And the whole axletree beneath was polluted with gore, and the rings which were round the chariot seat, which the drops from the horses' hoofs spattered, as well as from the felloes.

From The Iliad of Homer (1873) by Buckley, Theodore Alois

From the forks of the Platte to the valley of the Sacramento, there is not a stick of growing timber that would make a decent axe-helve, much less a substantial axletree.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various

Pattaquasset seems to me to be, socially, at one extreme pole of the axletree before-mentioned, and while I am here I feel no revolution of the great mass heaving beyond.

From Say and Seal, Volume I by Warner, Susan

Note the heavy bed on which the cheeks of the carriage rest and the built-in skid under the center of the rear axletree.

From Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America by Manucy, Albert

To shift a front truck the rear truck on the opposite side should first be taken off, then handspikemen lift under the fore axletree.

From Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition. by United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Ordnance