sun gear
1
6.0
- noun
- Specialized
:
engranaje solar
- The mechanic explained that the sun gear is essential for the efficient operation of the device.
Examples
-
When the sun gear turns, it causes the orbiting planet gears to move around it.
-
You see here, It is the sun gear here in the middle
-
It consists of fixed sun gears and circulating planet gears of the same diameter.
Academic text (2000) -
In this planetary gear system, the sun gear is located at the center, driving the motion of the surrounding gears.
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
sun + gear
The compound is compositional: 'sun' evokes the central body and 'gear' is a toothed wheel, so together they naturally denote the central gear around which others revolve. The metaphor of the sun as a center is cross-linguistically common, making this meaning predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents, despite the term's technical use.
Etymology
The term sun gear comes from a simple picture: a middle sun that is a gear, with other planet gears turning around it like planets. That's why the sun gear means the middle gear that 'transmits power' to the gears around it.