shaft
(shăft)
[Middle English, from Old English sceaft.]
noun
- The long narrow stem or body of a spear or arrow.
- A spear or arrow.
- A projectile suggestive of a spear or arrow in appearance or configuration.
- Informal A scornfully satirical comment; a barb.
- Slang Harsh, unfair treatment. Often used with the: The president of the airline really gave the unions the shaft.
- A ray or beam of light.
- A long thin object or part, as:
- The handle of any of various tools or implements.
- One of two parallel poles between which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle.
- A long, generally cylindrical bar that rotates and transmits power, as the drive shaft of an engine.
- Zoology The main axis of a feather, especially its distal portion.
- Anatomy
- The midsection of a long bone; the diaphysis.
- The section of a hair projecting from the surface of the body.
- Architecture
- A column or obelisk.
- The principal portion of a column, between the capital and the base.
- A long, narrow, often vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for mining ore; a tunnel.
- A vertical passage housing an elevator.
- A duct or conduit for the passage of air, as for ventilation or heating.
transitive verb: shaft·ed, shaft·ing, shafts.
- To equip with a shaft.
- Slang To treat in a harsh, unfair way: “He had been shafted by the press quite a bit” (Frank Deford)
