Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Crank

Crank (kr?nk), n. [OE. cranke; akin to E. cringe, cringle, crinkle, and to crank, a., the root meaning, probably, "to turn, twist." See Cringe.] 1. (Mach.) A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See Bell crank.

2. Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.

So many turning cranks these have, so many crooks. Spenser.

3. A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word.

Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles. Milton.

4. A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion. [Prov. Eng.]

Violent of temper; subject to sudden cranks. Carlyle.

5. A person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter. [Colloq.]

6. A sick person; an invalid. [Obs.]

Thou art a counterfeit crank, a cheater. Burton.

Crank axle (Mach.), a driving axle formed with a crank or cranks, as in some kinds of locomotives. — Crank pin (Mach.), the cylindrical piece which forms the handle, or to which the connecting rod is attached, at the end of a crank, or between the arms of a double crank. — Crank shaft, a shaft bent into a crank, or having a crank fastened to it, by which it drives or is driven. — Crank wheel, a wheel acting as a crank, or having a wrist to which a connecting rod is attached.

Crank (kr?nk), a. [AS. cranc weak ; akin to Icel. krangr, D. & G. krank sick, weak (cf. D. krengen to careen). Cf. Crank, n.] 1. Sick; infirm. [Prov. Eng.]

2. (Naut.) Liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail.

3. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

He who was, a little before, bedrid, . . . was now crank and lusty. Udall.

If you strong electioners did not think you were among the elect, you would not be so crank about it. Mrs. Stowe.

Crank, v. i. [See Crank, n.] To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn.

See how this river comes me cranking in. Shak.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.