wheel

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A round object that turns on its centre, used to move a vehicle or machine.

   One of the wheels on my bike is loose.

2. 2
   noun

   The round part you hold to steer a car; the steering wheel.

   She sat behind the wheel and started the engine.

3. 3
   verb

   To push something on wheels.

   The nurse wheeled the patient down the corridor.

4. 4
   verb

   To turn around suddenly.

   He wheeled around when he heard his name.

From Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hwehwl, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, *hweulō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlóm, *kʷékʷlos, *kʷékʷléh₂, reduplication of *kʷel- (“to turn”) and a suffix (literally "(the thing that) turns and turns"). See also West Frisian tsjil, Dutch wiel, Danish hjul; also Tocharian B kokale (“cart, wagon”), Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “cycle, wheel”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬑𐬭𐬀 (caxra), Sanskrit चक्र (cakrá); and Latin colō (“to till, cultivate”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B käl- (“to bear; bring”), Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō, “to come into e…

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