Library / English Dictionary

TREADLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A lever that is operated with the foot

Synonyms:

foot lever; foot pedal; pedal; treadle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("treadle" is a kind of...):

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "treadle"):

accelerator; accelerator pedal; gas; gas pedal; gun; throttle (a pedal that controls the throttle valve)

brake pedal (foot pedal that moves a piston in the master brake cylinder)

clutch; clutch pedal (a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism)

soft pedal (a pedal on a piano that moves the action closer to the strings and so soften the sound)

loud pedal; sustaining pedal (a pedal on a piano that lifts the dampers from the strings and so allows them to continue vibrating)

Holonyms ("treadle" is a part of...):

bicycle; bike; cycle; wheel (a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals)

automotive vehicle; motor vehicle (a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not run on rails)

organ; pipe organ (wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard)

Derivation:

treadle (operate (machinery) by a treadle)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Operate (machinery) by a treadle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "treadle" is one way to...):

control; operate (handle and cause to function)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

treadle (a lever that is operated with the foot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tread over

Example:

the brick maker treadles over clay to pick out the stones

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "treadle" is one way to...):

trample; tread (tread or stomp heavily or roughly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits