ə̇ˈskāpmənt, eˈ- noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act of escaping
b. archaic : a way of escape : vent
2. : something that escapes ; specifically : the number of fish that are permitted to survive and spawn (as by adjustment of fishing seasons or provision of fishways)
3.
[alteration (influenced by French échappement ) of earlier scapement ]
: the device in a timepiece which controls the motion of the train of wheelwork and through which the energy of the weight, mainspring, or other power source is delivered to the pendulum or balance by means of impulses that keep the latter in regular vibration and thus permit a tooth to escape from a pallet at regular intervals
4. : the mechanism in the action of a piano that causes the hammer to rebound after striking
5. : a ratchet device that permits motion in one direction only in successive equal steps with pauses between (as the spacing mechanism of a typewriter carriage)
6. : the mechanism that releases the matrices from the magazine of a keyboard-operated slug-casting machine
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escapement 3
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