Meanings
plural flywheels
- engineeringA rotating mass used to maintain the speed of a machine within certain limits while the machine receives or releases energy at a varying rate, or as a form of energy storage.
They were fitted with flywheels 25 ft. in dia. and weighing 50 tons each. The energy stored in such flywheels is very great, and in this case was of the order of 7,000,000 lb./ft. each.
1955 January, Charles E. Lee, “The Glasgow Underground Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 241 more example
As on Nos. 20001-3, the motor and generator armature shafts of the new locomotive each carry a heavy flywheel to provide kinetic energy and help maintain the speed of the motor-generator set during interruptions of supply, as at breaks in the continuity of the conductor rail.
1959 March, “The 2,500 h.p. electric locomotives for the Kent Coast electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 123
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*plew-
- Proto-Indo-European*plewk-
- Proto-Indo-European*pléwketi
- Proto-Germanic*fleuganą
- Proto-West Germanic*fleugan
- Old Englishflēogan
- Middle Englishflien
- Englishfly
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
- Proto-Germanic*hweulō
- Old Englishhwēol
- Middle Englishwhel
- Englishwheel
- Englishflywheel
Translations
Arabic حَدَّافَة
- حَدَّافَة (ḥaddāfa)rotating mass
Bulgarian махови́к
- махови́к (mahovík)rotating mass
Catalan volant d'inèrcia
- volant d'inèrciarotating mass
Chinese Mandarin 飛輪 /飞轮
- 飛輪 /飞轮 (fēilún)rotating mass
Czech setrvačník
- setrvačníkrotating mass
Danish svinghjul
- svinghjulrotating mass
Dutch vliegwiel
- vliegwielrotating mass
Estonian hooratas
- hooratasrotating mass
Finnish vauhtipyörä, tasauspyörä
- vauhtipyörärotating mass
- tasauspyörärotating mass
- vastuspyörärotating mass
French volant, volant d'inertie
- volantrotating mass
- volant d'inertierotating mass
German Schwungrad
- Schwungradrotating mass
Greek βολάν
- βολάν (volán)rotating mass
Hindi गतिपालक चक्र
- गतिपालक चक्र (gatipālak cakra)rotating mass
Hungarian lendkerék
- lendkerékrotating mass
Icelandic svinghjól
- svinghjólrotating mass
Indonesian roda gila
- roda gilarotating mass
Italian volano
- volanorotating mass
Japanese フライホイール, 弾み車
- フライホイール (furaihoīru)rotating mass
- 弾み車 (hazumiguruma)rotating mass
- 勢車rotating mass
Korean 플라이휠
- 플라이휠 (peullaihwil)rotating mass
Latvian spararats
- spararatsrotating mass
Lithuanian smagratis
- smagratisrotating mass
Māori tōhito
- tōhitorotating mass
Norwegian Bokmål svinghjul
- svinghjulrotating mass
Persian چرخ لنگر
- چرخ لنگر (čarx-e langar)rotating mass
Polish koło zamachowe, koło rozpędowe
- koło zamachowerotating mass
- koło rozpędowerotating mass
Portuguese volante
- volanterotating mass
Romanian volant
- volantrotating mass
Russian махови́к, махово́е колесо́
- махови́к (maxovík)rotating mass
- махово́е колесо́ (maxovóje kolesó)rotating mass
Slovak zotrvačník
- zotrvačníkrotating mass
Spanish volante, volante inercial
- volanterotating mass
- volante inercialrotating mass
Swedish svänghjul
- svänghjulrotating mass
Tagalog iikot
- iikotrotating mass
Thai ล้อตุนกำลัง
- ล้อตุนกำลัง (lɔ́ɔ-dtun-gam-lang)rotating mass
Turkish volan
- volanrotating mass
Ukrainian махови́к, ма́хове ко́лесо
- махови́к (maxovýk)rotating mass
- ма́хове ко́лесо (máxove kóleso)rotating mass
Vietnamese bánh đà
- bánh đàrotating mass
Cite this entry
flywheel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flywheel
“flywheel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flywheel. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flywheel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flywheel.
Source: flywheel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.