differential gear

American  

noun

Machinery.

1. differential.

2. any of various comparable arrangements of gears, as an epicyclic train.

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differential gear British  

noun

1. the epicyclic gear mounted in the driving axle of a road vehicle that permits one driving wheel to rotate faster than the other, as when cornering

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Etymology

Origin of differential gear

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

He designed the first power loom, the first rolling mill, the first differential gear, the first picture projector.

From Time Magazine Archive

The objection to the crank is the fact that it weakens the shaft, and that it can only be used with a clutch, not with a differential gear.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various

The propellers of the Abaris worked independently, on a sort of differential gear, like the rear wheels of an automobile.

From Dick Hamilton's Airship, or, a Young Millionaire in the Clouds by Garis, Howard Roger

In a rear-steerer which has not an open front, whether driven by a clutch or by differential gear, I fail to discover any good quality.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various

Of the relative merits of different forms of differential gear there is little to be said.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various