Handwheels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An apparatus consisting of a circular wheel used for manual control or operation of machinery
2. A mechanical device shaped like a wheel that is turned by hand to adjust or regulate equipment
3. A manually operated wheel that facilitates the movement or manipulation of components in various types of machinery

Etymology: "Handwheels" is the plural of "handwheel," a compound of "hand" and "wheel." Both parts are plain Old English inheritances: "hand" from Old English "hand" and "wheel" from Old English "hwēol," which has Germanic cognates across the family. The compound describes exactly what it sounds like, a wheel turned by hand rather than by a motor, and it is a transparent formation of the kind English has long produced from everyday words. Its usefulness lies in the mechanism it names. A handwheel typically sits on a shaft or spindle, so that turning it by hand rotates the shaft and moves whatever it controls, such as a valve, a gate, or the feed of a machine tool. The term is most common in engineering, machinery, and industrial settings, where it distinguishes manual controls from powered ones.