crank

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an eccentric person; a bent arm-and-handle used to turn a shaft

   He turned the crank to raise the bucket from the well.

From Old English 'cranc' (in 'crancstaef', a weaving implement), related to the Germanic root meaning 'bend, crook'. The 'eccentric person' sense derives from the idea of a twisted or bent disposition.

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