CANTALEVER

Can"ta*lev`er, n. Etym: [Can an extermal angle + lever a supported of the roof timber of a house.] Etym: [Written also cantaliver and cantilever.]

1. (Arch.)

Definition: A bracket to support a balcony, a cornice, or the like.

2. (Engin.)

Definition: A projecting beam, truss, or bridge unsupported at the outer end; one which overhangs. Cantalever bridge, a bridge in which the principle of the cantalever is applied. It is usually a trussed bridge, composed of two portions reaching out from opposite banks, and supported near the middle of their own length on piers which they overhang, thus forming cantalevers which meet over the space to be spanned or sustain a third portion, to complete the connection.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 November 2024

ONCHOCERCIASIS

(noun) infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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