bascule

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bas·cule

(băs′kyo͞ol)

A device or structure, such as a drawbridge, counterbalanced so that when one end is lowered the other is raised.

[French, seesaw : bas, low (from Old French, from Medieval Latin bassus) + cul, bottom (from Old French, from Latin cūlus, rump; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bascule

(ˈbæskjuːl)

1. (Civil Engineering) Also called: balance bridge or counterpoise bridge a bridge with a movable section hinged about a horizontal axis and counterbalanced by a weight. Compare drawbridge

2. (Civil Engineering) a movable roadway forming part of such a bridge: Tower Bridge has two bascules.

[C17: from French: seesaw, from bas low + cul rump; see base², culet]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bas•cule

(ˈbæs kyul)

n.

a device operating like a balance or seesaw, esp. an arrangement of a movable bridge (bas′cule bridge`) by which the rising floor or section is counterbalanced by a weight.

[1670–80; French; Middle French bacule]

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Noun

bascule - a structure or device in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (on the principle of the seesaw)

structure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"; "she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons"

Translations

bascule

n → Brückenklappe f; bascule bridge → Klappbrücke f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive ?

Built in 1909, the bascule bridge was a key piece of infrastructure in the town's worldleading copper industry.

Landmark city bridge on move for a facelift

Atlas General, Bascule Underwriting to Offer Workers' Comp for Equine Industry

Construction will start at the southern limits of the Phase II project, also being done by Kenny and will extend through the existing bridge houses and across the Chicago River alongside the Lake Shore Drive bascule bridge, in December 2018 and conclude in summer 2020.

Granite's subsidiary wins USD46m contract from City of Chicago

A NEW lighting system has been installed on Liverpool's historic Bascule Bridge.

Colourful new look for historic bridge

Un cote entier de la cabine arriere bascule vers le haut pour offrir un abri tandis que deux pistons hydrauliques dissimules sont utilises pour agrandir la cabine lateralement.

Ford : CIH opte pour la proximite

2) Rolling bascule bridge carrying a town street over a freshwater commercial waterway

Review of Acoustic Emission Source Mechanisms on Large Movable Structures

The new plan, a bascule bridge with two Gothic towers and upper pedestrian walkways, was formally adopted with the passing of the Tower Bridge Act of 1885.

Discover the machinery used to raise Tower Bridge and cross the high-level glass walkways for unparalleled views over London

In 2016 Hamid played four national tournaments including - Kalsoom Saif Ullah Khan Memorial National Ranking Tournament, Chief of the Air Staff Khyber Cup Open Tennis Tournament, Super-9 National Ranking Tennis Championship and First Bascule National Ranking Tennis Tournament.

Hamid Israr, a Tennis star in making

Sa vie a bascule un soir de 12 juillet 1998, a 26 ans, quand deux buts de la tete ont porte l'equipe de France sur le toit du monde (3-0 face au Bresil).