shaft

plural shafts

1. obsoleteThe entire body of a long weapon, such as an arrow.

   A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele, the feathers, and the head.

   1545, Roger Ascham, Toxophilus

2. The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.

   Her hand slipped off the javelin's shaft towards the spearpoint and that's why her score was lowered.

   1 more example

   Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.[…]. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.

   1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: stale

3. broadlyAnything cast or thrown as a spear or javelin.

   […]and the Thunder, / Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage, / Perhaps hath ſpent his ſhafts […]

   1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC

   2 more examples

   The correction of theſe will reſtore its proper dignity to the ſtudy of antiquities, and cauſe the ſhafts of ridicule, which have been ſucceſsfully thrown at it, to recoil.

   1800, Vicesimus Knox, “Essay LXXIV”, in Essays Moral and Literary, volume II, page 100

   Moya and her new friend Mamie have been shrieking appropriate quotations at one another, upstairs and down, for days past. Of course, I didn't see the exact point of the various shafts of wit until now, but this is evidently what was brewing.

   1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries

4. Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool.
   1. One of the poles between which a draught animal is harnessed to a vehicle.

      While Kitto chatted to William, Jessamy looked with interest at the dog cart. It had a pair of high wooden wheels with two seats back to back above. Between the shafts the bay mare tossed her head and fidgeted on the cobbles.

      1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 57

      Synonyms: pole, carriage pole

   2. A rotating machine element used to transmit power; a driveshaft

      Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.

      2013 July-August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist

   3. ball gamesThe long narrow body of a lacrosse stick.

      Sarah, if you wear gloves your hands might not slip on your shaft and you can up your game, girl!

5. literaryA beam or ray of light.

   Isn't that shaft of light from that opening in the cave beautiful?

   1 more example

   They were a fine company of old women, and a Dutch painter would have loved to find them there together, where the sun made bright patches on the floor and sent long, quivering shafts of gold through the dusky shade up among the rafters.

   1912, Willa Cather, The Bohemian Girl

6. The main axis of a feather.

   I had no idea that they removed the feathers' shafts to make the pillows softer!

   Synonyms: rachis

7. A vertical or inclined passage sunk into the earth as part of a mine.

   Your grandfather used to work with a crane hauling ore out of the gold mine's shafts.

   Synonyms: mineshaft

8. A vertical passage housing a lift or elevator.

   Darn it, my keys fell through the gap and into the elevator shaft.

   Synonyms: liftshaft

9. A ventilation or heating conduit.

   Our parrot flew into the air duct and got stuck in the shaft.

   Synonyms: airduct

10. architectureAny column or pillar, particularly the body of a column between its capital and pedestal.

    Spirit, that made those heroes dare / To die, or leave their children free / Bid Time and Nature gently spare / The shaft we raise to thee.

    1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Hymn […] ”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 251

11. anatomyThe main cylindrical part of the penis.

    The female labia minora is homologous to the penis shaft skin of males.

12. The chamber of a blast furnace.
13. climatologyA relatively small area of precipitation that an onlook can discern from the dry surrounding area.
14. businessA component of a loom which holds the heddles and is raised by treadles to create the shed.

    Eight shafts are required to weave this structure. If you have four shafts, you may weave something similar by threading alternate blocks to plain weave and 2/2 basket.

    1990, Sharon Alderman, A Handweaver's Notebook, →ISBN, page 93

    Synonyms: harness

15. slangAn act of sexual intercourse.

    I sat on the sofa, got up, changed channels and doubted there'd be time to have a quick shaft and feign an orgasm today.

    2012, Najat El Hachmi, The Last Patriarch (page 286)

present singular third person shafts · participle present shafting · participle past shafted · past shafted

1. slangtransitiveTo fuck over; to cause harm to, especially through deceit or treachery.

   Your boss really shafted you by stealing your idea like that.

   2 more examples

   Who can I trust after repeatedly being shafted

   1992, “Crackers And Cheese”, performed by Eminem

   Their fate will be in each other's hands as they decide whether to share... or to shaft.

   2001, Shafted, spoken by Robert Kilroy-Silk

   Synonyms: abuse, beglammer, counterfeit, deceive, catch, trap into, dissemble, dissimulate

2. transitiveTo equip with a shaft.
3. slangtransitiveTo fuck; to have sexual intercourse with.

   Turns out my roommate was shafting my girlfriend.

   2 more examples

   Which grotesque auld hing-oot will the shrivelled post-menopausal slag want tae shaft? Stay tuned.

   1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 252

   Well at least I can get it up. No wonder Mary's going out of her head. Stuck with you sponging off her and not even a decent shafting for her trouble.

   2018, Sarah Phelps, 23:00, in Ordeal by Innocence, episode 2, spoken by Mickey Argyle (Christian Cooke)

   Synonyms: Formal terms, bed, coit, coitize, dight, enjoy, feague, go in unto