The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bascule \Bas"cule\ (b[a^]s"k[-u]l), n. [F., a seesaw.] In mechanics, an apparatus on the principle of the seesaw, in which one end rises as the other falls.
Bascule bridge, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge, which is opened by sinking the counterpoise and thus lifting the footway into the air.
Wiktionary
n. a counterbalanced structure having one end that rises as the other lowers
WordNet
n. a structure in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (as in a bascule bridge)
Wikipedia
Bascule may refer to:
- A Bascule bridge, a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic. Bascule is a French term for seesaw and balance, and bascule bridges operate along the same principle
- Bascule (horse), or roundness over a jump, of a horse
- Originally, a form of torture. The victim is bound to a seesaw-like device with the buttocks outward, and repeatedly lifted and dropped.
- A bascule lock, an antiquated, counterbalanced door lock.
- A Teeterboard, a circus-apparatus
Bascule is the natural round arc a horse's body takes as it goes over a jump. The horse should rise up through its back, stretching its neck forward and down, when it reaches the peak of his jump. Ideally, the withers are the highest point over the fence. This is often described as the horse taking the shape of a dolphin jumping out of the water. Bascule can also refer more generally to the raising of the withers while the horse is in motion.
Usage examples of "bascule".
At the last moment, he let go of her reins and both trogon basculed beautifully over the rock wall and into open air, soaring high over the deep canyon below.
Out of sight underneath the pier were the cogwheels and accumulator tanks that helped operate the bascule on this side of the river.
On the other side of the bascule was a sheer drop to the river below and directly opposite was the underside of its sister bascule, this one also raised and standing erect against the south tower.
I clung to the great bascule as it shuddered beneath me, and the air thundered with the blasts, the roof above my head juddering wildly, threatening to collapse on top of me, now another blast joining the first two, the sound alone almost sending me reeling into the waters so far below.
The top of the bascule was wide enough for me to lay on, and metal ridges and holes containing bolts that locked both sides together when the bridge was lowered helped me cling there while the entire structure shook and groaned.
Massive black smoke-clouds darkened the sky and the bascule continued to vibrate like a vast tuning fork.
I swung out over the river, the bascule at least a third of the way down by now, and dizziness nearly overcame me again as the river spun beneath my feet.
I turned over and scrambled upwards, reaching for the top edge of the bascule, dragging myself up onto the apex.
His chest rose from the concrete and I realized the bottom of the bascule was angled to join the underside slope of the roadway itself when the bridge was level.
To our left, Tower Bridge rose high and proud, its bascules frozen open for all time, the river beneath flowing clear and pure in the sunlight.
She would have the privilege of pushing the lever that closed the open bascules.
Stone walls twenty feet high followed the contours of the ground for miles, bascules sprouting ominously every hundred yards.
I woz juss sayin, when thi pen falls out ov ma mouf, let it hit thi carpet then shaik me & shout Bascule, fast awake!