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Glite Dictionary
hand throttle

hand throttle

7.2
A lever you move by hand to control an engine's power
  • noun
  • /hænd ˈθrɔtəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : acelerador manual
  • He expertly controlled the hand throttle to maintain a steady speed while climbing the hill.

Examples

  • The hand throttle is set halfway down.

    The Big Sleep (1946)

  • The driver adjusted the hand throttle to increase the speed of the vehicle.

  • With the hand throttle fully engaged, the engine roared to life.

Synonyms

throttle
vshand throttle
57 6.1

A lever or pedal that controls an engine's power and speed

is a hand operated lever used specifically to control that valve

Surface Forms

hand throttle singular
hand throttles plural

Morphology

hand + throttle

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'hand' (operated by hand) with 'throttle' (a device controlling engine air/fuel flow); as a noun–noun compound it denotes a subtype or instrument, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is a throttle operated by hand. This composition is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern in technical vocabulary and does not require idiomatic knowledge.

Etymology

Hand throttle comes from a simple picture: a lever you move with your hand to adjust the throttle, the part that controls an engine's speed. That's why it means 'a control you move by hand to change engine power'.