Hinges

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɪnd͡ʒəz/

Definitions

1. A type of hardware composed of two plates connected by a pin that facilitates swinging motion between objects
2. A tool that consists of two flat pieces joined at a central axis to permit opening and closing action of doors or lids
3. A jointed device that connects two objects and allows them to rotate or swing open and closed

Etymology: The hinge is named for the act of hanging. Its Old English ancestor, henġ or henġe, was related to the verb "hōn" (to hang) and to "hangian" (to cause to hang up), so the word described the thing on which a door or gate hangs. Old English also had "henġeclif," an overhanging cliff, which shows the same root carrying the sense of something suspended from above. The family of words is remarkably wide across Germanic languages. Dutch "heng" named the moving leaf of a hinge, Danish "hængsel" and Norwegian "hengsel" name the hinge directly, and Low German "henge" could mean a hook, a hinge, or a handle, all of them things that hold or swing. The English form survived as Middle English "henge" before the modern spelling settled.

Synonyms: pivot, joint