pul·ley

[pool-ee]
noun, plural pul·leys.
1.
a wheel, with a grooved rim for carrying a line, that turns in a frame or block and serves to change the direction of or to transmit force, as when one end of the line is pulled to raise a weight at the other end: one of the simple machines.
2.
a combination of such wheels in a block, or of such wheels or blocks in a tackle, to increase the force applied.
3.
a wheel driven by or driving a belt or the like, used to deliver force to a machine, another belt, etc., at a certain speed and torque.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English poley, puly < Middle French polie ≪ Medieval Greek *polídion little pivot, equivalent to pól(os) pole2 + -idion diminutive suffix

Related forms
pul·ley·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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pulley is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
pulley (ˈpʊlɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a wheel with a grooved rim in which a rope, chain, or belt can run in order to change the direction or point of application of a force applied to the rope, etc
2.  a number of such wheels pivoted in parallel in a block, used to raise heavy loads
3.  a wheel with a flat, convex, or grooved rim mounted on a shaft and driven by or driving a belt passing around it
 
[C14 poley, from Old French polie, from Vulgar Latin polidium (unattested), apparently from Late Greek polidion (unattested) a little pole, from Greek polos axis]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pulley
1324, from O.Fr. polie (c.1150), from M.L. poliva, from Medieval Gk. *polidia, pl. of *polidion "little pivot," dim. of Gk. polos "pivot, axis" (see pole (2)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
pulley   (pl'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
A machine consisting of a wheel over which a pulled rope or chain runs to change the direction of the pull used for lifting a load. Combinations of two or more pulleys working together reduce the force needed to lift a load. See also block and tackle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Actually, he was raised and lowered by an all-too-visible wire and pulley.
For the next two hours, the scientists took blood and fat samples and weighed
  the bears using a stretcher and pulley.
The cameraman has to use a pulley to pull the camera back up to the top after
  each dive.
And since the mechanism's chain-driven pulley jockeys generate power, battery
  life is measured in years.
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