What is "cornish engine"

Cornish \Cor"nish\ (k?r"n?sh), a. Of or pertaining to Cornwall, in England.

Cornish chough. See Chough.

Cornish engine, a single-acting pumping engine, used in mines, in Cornwall and elsewhere, and for water works. A heavy pump rod or plunger, raised by the steam, forces up the water by its weight, in descending.

A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, mainly for pumping water from a mine. It is a form of beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier engines designed by James Watt. The engines were also used for powering man engines to assist the underground miners' journeys to and from their working levels, for winching materials into and out of the mine and for powering the ore stamping machinery.