hinge

(hĭnj)

1. a. A jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame.
   b. A similar structure or part, such as one that enables the valves of a bivalve mollusk to open and close.
2. A small folded paper rectangle gummed on one side, used especially to fasten stamps in an album.
3. A point or circumstance on which subsequent events depend.

1. To attach by or equip with or as if with hinges or a hinge.
2. To consider or make (something) dependent on something else; predicate: “convenient and misleading fictions for hinging an argument” (Stephen Jay Gould).

(click for a larger image)

hinge

left: strap hinge

right: T-hinge