printwheel

P3R1I1N1T1W4H4E1E1L1

noun

In early printers, a disk bearing impressions of characters around its rim; these are struck against the page to produce text.

OriginEnglish wheel ← Middle English whel ← Old English hwēol →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounprintwheel (plural printwheels)

plural printwheels · alternative print wheel · alternative print-wheel

  1. In early printers, a disk bearing impressions of characters around its rim; these are struck against the page to produce text.

Origin

  1. Englishprint
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  4. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  5. Old Englishhwēol
  6. Middle Englishwhel
  7. Englishwheel
  8. Englishprintwheel

From print + wheel.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

printwheel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/printwheel

MLA

“printwheel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/printwheel. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “printwheel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/printwheel.

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