"mainspring" meaning in All languages combined

See mainspring on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

Forms: mainsprings [plural]
Etymology: From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”). Etymology templates: {{compound|en|main|spring}} main + spring Head templates: {{en-noun}} mainspring (plural mainsprings)
  1. (horology) The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling. Translations (the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism): զսպանակ (zspanak) (Armenian), ressort motor [masculine] (Catalan), 發條 (Chinese), 发条 (fātiáo) (Chinese), زمبلك (zambálek) [masculine] (Egyptian Arabic), vedru (Estonian), vieteri (Finnish), ressort moteur [masculine] (French), Antriebsfeder [feminine] (German), Triebfeder [feminine] (German), Hauptfeder [feminine] (German), granda resorto (Ido), ぜんまいばね (Japanese), ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ (pradhāna prēraṇe) (Kannada), ard-lheimaghan [masculine] (Manx), zenbelka serekî (Northern Kurdish), sprężyna napędowa (Polish), resorte motor [masculine] (Spanish), ลาน (laan) (Thai), zemberek [masculine] (Turkish), بڑی کمانی (Urdu), dây cót chính (Vietnamese)
    Sense id: en-mainspring-en-noun-6mAixJmj Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Terms with Armenian translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Chinese translations, Terms with Egyptian Arabic translations, Terms with Estonian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Ido translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Kannada translations, Terms with Manx translations, Terms with Northern Kurdish translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Thai translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Terms with Urdu translations, Terms with Vietnamese translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 89 11 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 90 10 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 88 12 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 75 25 Disambiguation of Terms with Armenian translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Chinese translations: 90 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Egyptian Arabic translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Estonian translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 92 8 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Ido translations: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 90 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Kannada translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Manx translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Northern Kurdish translations: 95 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 84 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 94 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Thai translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Urdu translations: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Vietnamese translations: 83 17 Topics: hobbies, horology, lifestyle Disambiguation of 'the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism': 100 0
  2. (figuratively) The most important reason for, or element of, something. Tags: figuratively
    Sense id: en-mainspring-en-noun-ux00yQz1

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "main",
        "3": "spring"
      },
      "expansion": "main + spring",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "mainsprings",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "mainspring (plural mainsprings)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
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          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
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          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
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        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
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          "_dis": "92 8",
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          "parents": [],
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        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:",
          "text": "He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling."
      ],
      "id": "en-mainspring-en-noun-6mAixJmj",
      "links": [
        [
          "spring",
          "spring"
        ],
        [
          "clockwork",
          "clockwork"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(horology) The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "horology",
        "lifestyle"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "zspanak",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "զսպանակ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ressort motor"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "zh",
          "lang": "Chinese",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "發條"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "zh",
          "lang": "Chinese",
          "roman": "fātiáo",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "发条"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "arz",
          "lang": "Egyptian Arabic",
          "roman": "zambálek",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "زمبلك"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "vedru"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "vieteri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ressort moteur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Antriebsfeder"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Triebfeder"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Hauptfeder"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "io",
          "lang": "Ido",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "granda resorto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "ぜんまいばね"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "kn",
          "lang": "Kannada",
          "roman": "pradhāna prēraṇe",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "kmr",
          "lang": "Northern Kurdish",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "zenbelka serekî"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "gv",
          "lang": "Manx",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ard-lheimaghan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "sprężyna napędowa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "resorte motor"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "roman": "laan",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "ลาน"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "zemberek"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ur",
          "lang": "Urdu",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "بڑی کمانی"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
          "word": "dây cót chính"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "My daughter is the mainspring of my life.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 November 2, Paul Mason, “What Shakespeare taught me about Marxism”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "But in the England of Shakespeare’s history plays, the mainspring of the system has broken down.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The most important reason for, or element of, something."
      ],
      "id": "en-mainspring-en-noun-ux00yQz1",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) The most important reason for, or element of, something."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "mainspring"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
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    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
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    "English nouns",
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    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Chinese translations",
    "Terms with Egyptian Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Estonian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Ido translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Kannada translations",
    "Terms with Manx translations",
    "Terms with Northern Kurdish translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Thai translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "Terms with Urdu translations",
    "Terms with Vietnamese translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "main",
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      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "mainsprings",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "mainspring (plural mainsprings)",
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  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:",
          "text": "He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "spring",
          "spring"
        ],
        [
          "clockwork",
          "clockwork"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(horology) The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "horology",
        "lifestyle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "My daughter is the mainspring of my life.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 November 2, Paul Mason, “What Shakespeare taught me about Marxism”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "But in the England of Shakespeare’s history plays, the mainspring of the system has broken down.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The most important reason for, or element of, something."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) The most important reason for, or element of, something."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "zspanak",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "զսպանակ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ressort motor"
    },
    {
      "code": "zh",
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "發條"
    },
    {
      "code": "zh",
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "roman": "fātiáo",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "发条"
    },
    {
      "code": "arz",
      "lang": "Egyptian Arabic",
      "roman": "zambálek",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "زمبلك"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "vedru"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "vieteri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ressort moteur"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Antriebsfeder"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Triebfeder"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Hauptfeder"
    },
    {
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "granda resorto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "ぜんまいばね"
    },
    {
      "code": "kn",
      "lang": "Kannada",
      "roman": "pradhāna prēraṇe",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ"
    },
    {
      "code": "kmr",
      "lang": "Northern Kurdish",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "zenbelka serekî"
    },
    {
      "code": "gv",
      "lang": "Manx",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ard-lheimaghan"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "sprężyna napędowa"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "resorte motor"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "roman": "laan",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "ลาน"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "zemberek"
    },
    {
      "code": "ur",
      "lang": "Urdu",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "بڑی کمانی"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "the principal spring of a clockwork mechanism",
      "word": "dây cót chính"
    }
  ],
  "word": "mainspring"
}

Download raw JSONL data for mainspring meaning in All languages combined (5.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-09-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-09-20 using wiktextract (af5c55c and 66545a6). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.