steelyard Hear it!

steelyard definition

steel·yard (stēl′yärd′, stil′yərd)

noun

a balance or scale consisting of a metal arm suspended off center from above: the object to be weighed is hung from the shorter end, and a sliding weight is moved along the graduated longer end until the whole arm balances

Etymology: steel + yard (in obs. sense of “rod, bar”)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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