shaft

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ʃæft/ UK /ʃɑːft/ See IPA manual

Freq #7154

Meanings

1

noun
a long rod or pole, especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow

The shaft of the sword was made with the finest elm.
2

noun
a vertical passageway through a building, usually used for an elevator

The shaft was nearly 100 meters tall!
3

noun
The entire body of a long weapon, such as an arrow.

A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele, the feathers, and the head.
4

noun
The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.

Her hand slipped off the javelin's shaft towards the spearpoint and that's why her score was lowered.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 noun · the long, narrow, central... stale

Word family

Forms shafts

Derived forms aftershaftairshaftbackshaftbareshaftbrakeshaftcamshaftclutchshaftcockshaftcountershaftcrankshaftdriveshaftdropshaft

Etymology

From Middle English schaft, from Old English sċeaft, from Proto-West Germanic *skaft, from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz. Cognate with Dutch schacht, German German Schaft, Swedish skaft. In Early Modern English, shaft referred to the entire body of a long weapon, such that an arrow's “shaft” was composed of its tip, stale, and fletching. Over time, the word came to be used in place of the former stale and lost its original meaning.

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# shaft

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ʃæft/
**IPA (UK):** /ʃɑːft/
**Frequency rank:** 7154

## Meanings
1. a long rod or pole, especially the handle of an implement or the body of a weapon like a spear or arrow
2. a vertical passageway through a building, usually used for an elevator
3. The entire body of a long weapon, such as an arrow.
4. The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.

## Examples
- The shaft of the sword was made with the finest elm.
- The shaft was nearly 100 meters tall!
- A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele, the feathers, and the head.
- Her hand slipped off the javelin's shaft towards the spearpoint and that's why her score was lowered.

## Derived Forms
- aftershaft
- airshaft
- backshaft
- bareshaft
- brakeshaft
- camshaft
- clutchshaft
- cockshaft
- countershaft
- crankshaft
- driveshaft
- dropshaft

## Etymology
From Middle English schaft, from Old English sċeaft, from Proto-West Germanic *skaft, from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz. Cognate with Dutch schacht, German German Schaft, Swedish skaft. In Early Modern English, shaft referred to the entire body of a long weapon, such that an arrow's “shaft” was composed of its tip, stale, and fletching. Over time, the word came to be used in place of the former stale and lost its original meaning.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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shaft

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