hinge

hinge
    n 1: a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing
         relative to the other [syn: {hinge}, {flexible joint}]
    2: a circumstance upon which subsequent events depend; "his
       absence is the hinge of our plan"
    v 1: attach with a hinge
    

Hinge \Hinge\, n. [OE. henge, heeng; akin to D. heng, LG. henge,
   Prov. E. hingle a small hinge; connected with hang, v., and
   Icel. hengja to hang. See {Hang}.]
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   1. The hook with its eye, or the joint, on which a door,
      gate, lid, etc., turns or swings; a flexible piece, as a
      strip of leather, which serves as a joint to turn on.
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            The gate self-opened wide,
            On golden hinges turning.             --Milton.
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   2. That on which anything turns or depends; a governing
      principle; a cardinal point or rule; as, this argument was
      the hinge on which the question turned.
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   3. One of the four cardinal points, east, west, north, or
      south. [R.]
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            When the moon is in the hinge at East. --Creech.
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            Nor slept the winds . . . but rushed abroad.
                                                  --Milton.
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   {Hinge joint}.
      (a) (Anat.) See {Ginglymus}.
      (b) (Mech.) Any joint resembling a hinge, by which two
          pieces are connected so as to permit relative turning
          in one plane.

   {To be off the hinges}, to be in a state of disorder or
      irregularity; to have lost proper adjustment. --Tillotson.
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Hinge \Hinge\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hinged}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Hinging}.]
   1. To attach by, or furnish with, hinges.
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   2. To bend. [Obs.] --Shak.
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Hinge \Hinge\, v. i.
   To stand, depend, hang, or turn, as on a hinge; to depend
   chiefly for a result or decision or for force and validity;
   -- usually with on or upon; as, the argument hinges on this
   point. --I. Taylor
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Hinge
(Heb. tsir), that on which a door revolves. "Doors in the East
turn rather on pivots than on what we term hinges. In Syria, and
especially in the Hauran, there are many ancient doors,
consisting of stone slabs with pivots carved out of the same
piece inserted in sockets above and below, and fixed during the
building of the house" (Prov. 26:14).
    

153 Moby Thesaurus words for "hinge":
      accrue from, ankle, arbor, arise from, articulate, articulation,
      axis, axle, axle bar, axle shaft, axle spindle, axle-tree, batten,
      batten down, be based on, be contingent on, be dependent on,
      be due to, be predicated on, bolt, boundary, buckle, bud from,
      butt, button, cervix, clasp, cleat, climacteric, clinch, clip,
      closure, clutch, come from, come out of, connecting link,
      connecting rod, connection, convergence of events, coupling,
      crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads,
      crucial period, crunch, depend, depend on, derive from,
      descend from, distaff, dovetail, elbow, emanate from, embrace,
      emerge from, emergency, ensue from, exigency, extremity, flow from,
      follow from, fulcrum, germinate from, gimbal, gliding joint,
      grow from, grow out of, gudgeon, hang, hang on, hasp, hinge on,
      hinged joint, hingle, hip, hitch, hook, hub, interface, issue from,
      jam, join, joining, joint, juncture, knee, knuckle, latch, lie on,
      lie with, link, lock, mandrel, miter, mortise, nail, nave, neck,
      oarlock, originate in, pass, peg, pin, pinch, pintle, pivot,
      pivot joint, pole, proceed from, push, rabbet, radiant, rest,
      rest on, rest with, revolve on, rivet, rowlock, rub, scarf, screw,
      seam, sew, shoulder, skewer, snap, spindle, spring from,
      sprout from, stand on, staple, stem from, stick, stitch, strait,
      suture, swivel, symphysis, tack, tie rod, toggle, toggle joint,
      trunnion, turn, turn on, turn upon, turning point, union, wedge,
      weld, wrist, zipper