linchpin
/ˈlɪnt͡ʃˌpɪn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.33 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A pin inserted through holes at the end of an axle or shaft, so as to secure a wheel or shaft-mounted device.
Example Sentences
- "In ij camellis ferri vocatis lynspins emptis pro carectis iiijᵈ."
- "Every design that villany could suggest was had recourse to in the hopes of nobbling Wild Dayrell; but never being left for an hour by either his trainer or jockey, he escaped the intended “coopering,” even when the lynchpins of the wheels of his van had been tampered with."
- "The axles were attached to the wooden floors with leather straps, the floor projecting on each side to take the wheels which were secured by linchpins to their outer faces."
- "What is difficult to appreciate, however, is the discrepancy between his statement to the 'Manchester Guardian' correspondent and his known abhorance for party politics, which is the lynchpin of modern democracy."
- "Community nurses have been described as the lynchpins of palliative care in the community."
- "Second, QAnon, whose adherents have deep ties to countless other large communities, has become a linchpin in that ecosystem, and the absurdity of its claims in no way reduces its political influence."
Etymology
From Middle English lynspin, compound of lins (“axletree”) and pin, from Old English lynis (“lynchpin”), from Proto-West Germanic *lunis, from Proto-Germanic *lunaz – compare German Lünse and Dutch luns – from Proto-Indo-European. Possible further cognates are Welsh olwyn (“wheel”), Old Armenian ողն (ołn, “back; spine, backbone”) and Sanskrit आणि (āṇí, “lynchpin”). Figurative use attested from the mid-20th century.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: lynspin, lynis, *lunis, *lunaz, -
Inflected Forms
linchpins (plural)
linch-pin (alternative)
lynchpin (alternative)
lynch-pin (alternative)
link-pin (alternative)
lin-pin (alternative)
linchpins (present, singular)
linchpinning (participle, present)
linchpinned (participle, past)
linchpinned (past)