Gearstick

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A control device in vehicles that enables the driver to shift between gears for appropriate power delivery
2. A lever within the transmission system that permits the selection of different gear ratios for acceleration and deceleration
3. A component in automobiles that allows the operator to change gears and adjust the vehicle's power and speed output

Etymology: "Gearstick" is a plain compound: "gear" joined to "stick," the rod a driver moves to select a gear. The parts keep their ordinary senses. "Gear" comes from Middle English "gere," meaning equipment or apparatus, and in motoring it came to mean the set of toothed wheels that transmit power at a chosen ratio. "Stick" is the familiar Old English word for a slender piece of wood or a rod, so the name describes the lever as a stick you move to change gear. The formation is transparent enough that its meaning is clear from the parts alone. Other names for the same control, such as "gear lever" and "gearshift," follow the same pattern of describing the mechanism and the action, and "gearstick" is the common British English choice for it.

Synonyms: gear shift, gear lever, shifter, transmission lever, stick