Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A fine coiled spring that regulates the movement of the balance wheel in a watch or clock.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In watch-making, the fine hair-like spring coiled up within the balance-wheel and imparting motion to it.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Horology) The slender recoil spring which regulates the motion of the balance in a timepiece.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
spring , made of acoil of fine wire, that is used toregulate themovement of abalance wheel in awatch .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a fine spiral spring that regulates the movement of the balance wheel in a timepiece
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hairspring.
Examples
-
A Henry Grendon yellow gold and enamel pre-hairspring verge watch, circa 1640.
Big Time: The British Pocket Watch Jonathon Keats 2010
-
In general order of accuracy, these methods include a piezoelectric accelerometer, a coiled spring mechanism, and a hairspring mechanism.
The Small Change Diet Keri Gans 2011
-
In general order of accuracy, these methods include a piezoelectric accelerometer, a coiled spring mechanism, and a hairspring mechanism.
The Small Change Diet Keri Gans 2011
-
When he thought about it, however, he decided that, of course, the criminalist had indeed ordered it taken apart, down to the last hairspring and jewel, for the forensics team but then had it reassembled perfectly.
The Burning Wire Jeffery Deaver 2010
-
When he thought about it, however, he decided that, of course, the criminalist had indeed ordered it taken apart, down to the last hairspring and jewel, for the forensics team but then had it reassembled perfectly.
The Burning Wire Jeffery Deaver 2010
-
Watches with hairspring wheels work in a similar way.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH RICHARD DAWKINS 2009
-
Man-made clocks work on timescales that are very short by evolutionary standards – hours, minutes, seconds – and the time-dependent processes they use are fast: the swinging of a pendulum, the swivelling of a hairspring, the oscillation of a crystal, the burning of a candle, the draining of a water vessel or an hourglass, the rotation of the earth registered by a sundial.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH RICHARD DAWKINS 2009
-
Watches with hairspring wheels work in a similar way.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH RICHARD DAWKINS 2009
-
Man-made clocks work on timescales that are very short by evolutionary standards – hours, minutes, seconds – and the time-dependent processes they use are fast: the swinging of a pendulum, the swivelling of a hairspring, the oscillation of a crystal, the burning of a candle, the draining of a water vessel or an hourglass, the rotation of the earth registered by a sundial.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH RICHARD DAWKINS 2009
-
Pendleton asked Hamilton if he wanted the hairspring set a hairspring is a mechanism that would give the trigger a much lighter touch.
Alexander Hamilton, American Richard Brookhiser 1999
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.