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gantry

 - 3 dictionary results

gan⋅try

[gan-tree]
–noun, plural -tries.
1. a framework spanning a railroad track or tracks for displaying signals.
2. any of various spanning frameworks, as a bridgelike portion of certain cranes.
3. Rocketry. a frame consisting of scaffolds on various levels used to erect vertically launched rockets and spacecraft.
4. a framelike stand for supporting a barrel or cask.
Also, gauntry.


Origin:
1325–75; ME gauntre < dial. OF gantier wooden stand, frame, var. of chantier < ML cantārius < L canthērius < Gk kanthlios packass
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gan·try   (gān'trē)   
n.   pl. gan·tries
  1. A mount for a traveling crane consisting of a large archlike or bridgelike frame designed to move along a set of tracks.

  2. A similar spanning frame supporting a group of railway signals over several tracks.

  3. Aerospace A massive vertical frame structure used in assembling or servicing a rocket, especially at a launch site.

  4. A support for a barrel lying on its side.


[Middle English ganter, gauntre, wooden stand for barrels, from Old North French gantier, wooden frame, from Latin canthērius, from Greek kanthēlios, pack ass, from kanthēlia, panniers at the side of a pack-saddle.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gantry 
1574, originally, "four-footed stand for a barrel," probably from O.N.Fr. gantier, from O.Fr. chantier, from L. cantherius "rafter, frame," from Gk. kanthelios "pack ass," so called from the framework placed on its back, from kanthelion "rafter," of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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