turbine
Definitions
General English
- noun a machine which produces power from the action of water, gas or steam turning a wheel with blades which runs a generator
General Science
- noun a mechanical device which converts moving liquid, steam or air into energy by turning a generator
Aviation
Cars & Driving
- noun a machine which produces power by the action of water, steam, gas, etc. turning a wheel with blades
Construction
- Any of various machines that convert the kinetic energy of a moving fluid to mechanical energy. The turbine is often used for driving an electric generator.
Origin & History of “turbine”
Latin turbō denoted ‘whirl’, ‘whirling thing’, or ‘whirlwind’, and also ‘spinning-top’ (it was related to turba ‘disturbance, crowd’, source of English disturb, trouble, etc). from it around 1824 was coined French turbine, applied originally to a revolving wheel on an axis, driven by water-pressure. It was borrowed into English in the early 1840s.
