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Glite Dictionary
steam chest

steam chest

7.8
A space in a steam engine that sends steam to the cylinders
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : cámara de vapor
  • The engineer inspected the steam chest for leaks before starting the locomotive.

Examples

  • Proper maintenance of the steam chest is critical for efficient steam engine operation.

  • If the steam chest is damaged, pressure cannot be maintained in the engine.

  • The steam chest is crucial for the engine's operation.

  • Many older trains had a steam chest located near the boiler.

  • If the steam chest is damaged, pressure cannot be maintained in the engine.

  • Proper maintenance of the steam chest is critical for efficient steam engine operation.

  • The engineer inspected the steam chest for leaks before starting the locomotive.

Surface Forms

steam chest singular
steam chests plural

Morphology

steam + chest

The compound is compositionally transparent: 'steam' (vapor) + 'chest' (a box or container) straightforwardly yields a container or chamber for steam. Although it's a technical term in engineering, the sense of a box/chamber holding or distributing steam is directly inferable from the constituent meanings and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner knowing both words would likely grasp the meaning.

Etymology

The noun steam chest comes from a simple image of steam kept in a chest, like a box, ready to be sent into the engine. So, the term means the chamber that 'holds' and 'sends' steam to the engine's moving parts.