shaft
shaft
(shăft) noun
1.
a. The long, narrow stem or body of a spear or an arrow. b. A spear or an arrow.
2. a. A projectile suggestive of a spear or an arrow in appearance or configuration. b. Informal. A scornfully satirical comment; a barb. c. Slang. Harsh, unfair treatment. Often used with the: The president of the airline really gave the unions the shaft.
3. A ray or beam of light.
4. The handle of any of various tools or implements.
5. The main axis of a feather, especially its distal portion.
6. Anatomy. a. The midsection of a long bone; diaphysis. b. The section of a hair projecting from the surface of the body.
7. Architecture. a. A column or an obelisk. b. The section of a column between the capital and the base.
8. One of two parallel poles between which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle.
9. A long, generally cylindrical bar, especially one that rotates and transmits power, as the drive shaft of an engine.
10. A long, narrow, often vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for mining ore; a tunnel.
11. A vertical passage housing an elevator.
12. A duct or conduit for the passage of air, as for ventilation or heating.
verb
, transitive
shafted
, shafting, shafts
1.
To equip with a shaft.
2.
Slang. To treat in a harsh, unfair way: "He had been shafted by the press quite a bit" (Frank Deford).
[Middle English, from Old English sceaft.]