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pivoting

 [piv-uh-ting]   Origin

piv·ot·ing

   [piv-uh-ting]
noun Dentistry.
(formerly) the attaching of an artificial crown to the root of a tooth with a metal dowel.
Origin:
1850–55; pivot (v.) + -ing1

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Pivoting is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

piv·ot

   [piv-uht]
noun
1.
a pin, point, or short shaft on the end of which something rests and turns, or upon and about which something rotates or oscillates.
2.
the end of a shaft or arbor, resting and turning in a bearing.
3.
any thing or person on which something or someone functions or depends vitally: He is the pivot of my life.
4.
the person in a line, as of troops on parade, whom the others use as a point about which to wheel or maneuver.
5.
a whirling about on one foot.
EXPAND
6.
Basketball. the act of keeping one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction, so as not to be charged with walking.
7.
Basketball.
a.
an offensive position in the front court, usually played by the center, in which the player stands facing away from the offensive basket and serves as the pivot of the offense by setting up plays through passing, making screens, and taking shots.
b.
Also called pivotman. the player who plays in the pivot position.
8.
Dentistry. (formerly) dowel (def. 4).
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
9.
to turn on or as on a pivot.
10.
Basketball. to keep one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction.
verb (used with object)
11.
to mount on, attach by, or provide with a pivot or pivots.
Origin:
1605–15; < French pivot (noun), pivoter (v.), Old French < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pivoting
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pivot
1610s, from Fr., from O.Fr. pivot "hinge, pivot" (12c.), of uncertain origin. The verb is 1841, from the noun. Figurative sense of "central point" is recorded from 1813.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

pivoting

in linear and multilinear algebra, a process for finding the solutions of a system of simultaneous linear equations by first solving one of the equations for one variable (in terms of all the others) and then substituting this expression into the remaining equations. The result is a new system in which the number of equations and variables is one less than in the original system. The same procedure is applied to another variable and the process of reduction continued until there remains one equation, in which the only unknown quantity is the last variable. Solving this equation makes it possible to "back substitute" this value in an earlier equation that contains this variable and one other unknown in order to solve for another variable. This process is continued until all the original variables have been evaluated. The whole process is greatly simplified using matrix operations, which can be performed by computers.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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