Bascule

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bascule \Bas"cule\ (b[a^]s"k[-u]l), n. [F., a seesaw.]
     In mechanics, an apparatus on the principle of the seesaw, in
     which one end rises as the other falls.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Bascule bridge}, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge,


        which is opened by sinking the counterpoise and thus
        lifting the footway into the air.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bascule
       n : a structure in which one end is counterbalanced by the other
           (as in a bascule bridge)