pinion

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the smaller of two meshing gears, or a small gear that engages with a rack

   The motor's pinion meshes with the larger gear.

2. 2
   verb

   to bind or hold someone's arms or a bird's wings so that movement is prevented; often literary

   The guards tried to pinion his arms behind his back.

3. 3
   noun

   the outer part of a bird's wing or one of its large flight feathers; literary or anatomical

   The injured pinion prevented the bird from flying.

The wing sense came through Old French pignon or penon from Latin pinna 'feather, wing.' The gear sense came separately through French pignon 'cogwheel,' originally 'pointed gable.' The verb developed from the idea of disabling a bird's pinion, then binding a person's arms.

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