Definitions for: Hinge


[n] a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
[n] a circumstance upon which subsequent events depend; "his absence is the hinge of our plan"
[v] attach with a hinge



Webster (1913) Definition: Hinge, n. [OE. henge, heeng; akin to D. heng, LG. henge,
Prov. E. hingle a small hinge; connected with hang, v., and
Icel. hengja to hang. See Hang.]
1. The hook with its eye, or the joint, on which a door,
gate, lid, etc., turns or swings; a flexible piece, as a
strip of leather, which serves as a joint to turn on.

The gate self-opened wide, On golden hinges turning.
--Milton.

2. That on which anything turns or depends; a governing
principle; a cardinal point or rule; as, this argument was
the hinge on which the question turned.

3. One of the four cardinal points, east, west, north, or
south. [R.]

When the moon is in the hinge at East. --Creech.

Nor slept the winds . . . but rushed abroad.
--Milton.

Hinge joint.
(a) (Anat.) See Ginglymus.
(b) (Mech.) Any joint resembling a hinge, by which two
pieces are connected so as to permit relative turning
in one plane.

To be off the hinges, to be in a state of disorder or
irregularity; to have lost proper adjustment. --Tillotson.


Hinge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hinged; p. pr. & vb. n.
Hinging.]
1. To attach by, or furnish with, hinges.

2. To bend. [Obs.] --Shak.


Hinge, v. i.
To stand, depend, hang, or turn, as on a hinge; to depend
chiefly for a result or decision or for force and validity;
-- usually with on or upon; as, the argument hinges on this
point. --I. Taylor

Synonyms: flexible joint

See Also: attach, bi-fold door, butt hinge, car door, circumstance, exterior door, French door, gate, joint, joint hinge, outside door, pintle, strap hinge, swing door, swinging door, T hinge, tee hinge

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