cardan shaft

noun

A driveshaft with a universal joint at one or both ends.

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Meanings

cardan shaft1

nouncardan shaft (plural cardan shafts)

plural cardan shafts · alternative Cardan shaft

  1. engineeringA driveshaft with a universal joint at one or both ends.

    Each axle of every 82ft-long car is powered by a 170kW traction motor with flexible cardan shaft drive.

    1963 January, “New in Japan: Tokaido Line trials”, in Modern Railways, page 44
    1 more example

    Two Voith-North British hydraulic transmissions are fitted, each connected through a Hardy Spicer cardan shaft to its appropriate diesel engine.

    1958 April 28, “British Railways First Main-Line Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 265

Cardan shaft2

nounCardan shaft (plural Cardan shafts)

plural Cardan shafts

  1. alternativeAlternative form of cardan shaft.

Origin

Named after Girolamo Cardano.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Kardanwelle
  • Kardanwelledriveshaft
Norwegian Bokmål kardangaksel, drivaksel
  • kardangakseldriveshaft
  • drivakseldriveshaft
Russian карда́нный вал
  • карда́нный вал (kardánnyj val)driveshaft
Swedish kardanaxel
  • kardanaxeldriveshaft
Cite this entry
APA

cardan shaft. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardan%20shaft

MLA

“cardan shaft.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardan%20shaft. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cardan shaft,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardan%20shaft.

Source: cardan shaft on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.