'dashpot' definitions:
Definition of 'dashpot'
From: GCIDE
- Cataract \Cat"a*ract\, n. [L. cataracta, catarracles, a waterfall, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to break down; in the passive, to fall or rush down (of tumors) to burst; kata` down + ? to break.]
- 1. A great fall of water over a precipice; a large waterfall. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Surg.) An opacity of the crystalline lens, or of its capsule, which prevents the passage of the rays of light and impairs or destroys the sight. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Mach.) A kind of hydraulic brake for regulating the action of pumping engines and other machines; -- sometimes called dashpot. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'dashpot'
From: GCIDE
- dashpot \dash"pot`\, dash-pot \dash-pot\(d[a^]sh"p[o^]t`), n. (Mach.) a mechanical damping device containing a piston that moves in a fluid-filled chamber to serve as a pneumatic or hydraulic cushion for a falling weight, as in the valve gear of a steam engine, to prevent shock. [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
- Note: It consists of a chamber, containing air or a liquid, in which a piston (a), attached to the weight, falls freely until it enters a space (as below the openings, b) from which the air or liquid can escape but slowly (as through cock c), when its fall is gradually checked. [1913 Webster]
- Note: A cataract of an engine is sometimes called a dashpot. [1913 Webster]