1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pivot

PIVOT (Fr. pivot; probably connected with Ital. pivolo, peg, pin, diminutive of piva, pipa, pipe), that on which something turns, specifically a metal pointed pin or short shaft in machinery, sucb as the end of an axle or spindle. The term occurs frequently in. combination with other words, chiefly in technical usage, e.g. “pivot-gearing,” for a system of gearing in machinery which admits of the shifting of the axis of a driving wheel, so that the power may be communicated in various directions.