derailleur

[dih-rey-ler] Origin

de·rail·leur

[dih-rey-ler]
noun
a gear-shifting mechanism on a bicycle that shifts the drive chain from one sprocket wheel to another.

Origin:
1945–50; < French dérailleur literally, a device causing disengagement or derailing, equivalent to déraill(er) to derail + -eur -eur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Derailleur is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Collins
World English Dictionary
derailleur (dəˈreɪljə)
 
n
a mechanism for changing gear on bicycles, consisting of a device that lifts the driving chain from one sprocket wheel to another of different size
 
[French dérailleur derailer]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

derailleur
type of bicycle gear mechanism, 1930, from Fr. dérailleur (1927), from dérailler "to go off the rails" (see derail).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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