camshaft

C3A1M3S1H4A1F4T1
/ˈkæmʃæft/

noun

A shaft fitted with cams; especially one in a piston engine that activates the valves.

OriginEnglish shaft ← Dutch kam ← Middle Dutch kamp →
Less commonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nouncamshaft (plural camshafts)

plural camshafts

  1. A shaft fitted with cams; especially one in a piston engine that activates the valves.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵembʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵómbʰos
  3. Proto-Germanic*kambaz
  4. Proto-West Germanicᚲᚨᛒᚨ
  5. Proto-West Germanic*kamb
  6. Old Dutch*kamb
  7. Middle Dutchkamp
  8. Dutchkam
  9. Englishcam
  10. Englishshaft
  11. Englishcamshaft

From cam + shaft.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic عَمُود الحَدَبَات
  • عَمُود الحَدَبَات (ʕamūd al-ḥadabāt)a shaft fitted with cams
Bulgarian разпределителен вал
  • разпределителен вал (razpredelitelen val)a shaft fitted with cams
Chinese Mandarin 凸輪軸 /凸轮轴
  • 凸輪軸 /凸轮轴 (tūlúnzhóu)a shaft fitted with cams
Czech vačkový hřídel
  • vačkový hřídela shaft fitted with cams
Danish kamaksel
  • kamaksela shaft fitted with cams
Dutch nokkenas
  • nokkenasa shaft fitted with cams
Esperanto kamŝafto
  • kamŝaftoa shaft fitted with cams
Estonian nukkvõll
  • nukkvõlla shaft fitted with cams
Finnish nokka-akseli
  • nokka-akselia shaft fitted with cams
French arbre à cames
  • arbre à camesa shaft fitted with cams
German Nockenwelle
  • Nockenwellea shaft fitted with cams
Hebrew גַּל פִּיקוֹת, גַּל זִיזִים
  • גַּל פִּיקוֹת (gal pikot)a shaft fitted with cams
  • גַּל זִיזִים (gal zizim)a shaft fitted with cams
Indonesian poros bubungan
  • poros bubungana shaft fitted with cams
Italian albero a camme
  • albero a cammea shaft fitted with cams
Lithuanian paskirstymo velenas
  • paskirstymo velenasa shaft fitted with cams
Norwegian Bokmål kamaksel
  • kamaksela shaft fitted with cams
Polish wałek rozrządu, wałek rozrządczy
  • wałek rozrządua shaft fitted with cams
  • wałek rozrządczya shaft fitted with cams
Portuguese eixo de comando, árvore de cames
  • eixo de comandoa shaft fitted with cams
  • árvore de camesa shaft fitted with cams
Romanian arbore cu came, ax cu came
  • arbore cu camea shaft fitted with cams
  • ax cu camea shaft fitted with cams
Russian распределительный кулачковый вал, распредвал
  • распределительный кулачковый вал (raspredelitelʹnyj kulačkovyj val)a shaft fitted with cams
  • распредвал (raspredval)a shaft fitted with cams
Spanish árbol de levas
  • árbol de levasa shaft fitted with cams
Swedish kamaxel
  • kamaxela shaft fitted with cams
Tagalog tandos-umbok
  • tandos-umboka shaft fitted with cams
Turkish eksantrik mili, kam mili
  • eksantrik milia shaft fitted with cams
  • kam milia shaft fitted with cams
Vietnamese trục cam
  • trục cama shaft fitted with cams
Welsh camwerthyd, camsiafft
  • camwerthyda shaft fitted with cams
  • camsiaffta shaft fitted with cams
Cite this entry
APA

camshaft. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camshaft

MLA

“camshaft.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camshaft. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “camshaft,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camshaft.

Source: camshaft on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.