- Pneumatic action
- Pneumatic Pneu*mat"ic, Pneumatical Pneu*mat"ic*al, a. [L.
pneumaticus, Gr. ?, fr. ?, ?, wind, air, ? to blow, breathe;
cf. OHG. fnehan: cf. F. pneumatique. Cf. {Pneumonia}.]
1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties
of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense or solid.
[1913 Webster]
The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit of the body. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
2. Of or pertaining to air, or to elastic fluids or their properties; pertaining to pneumatics; as, pneumatic experiments. ``Pneumatical discoveries.'' --Stewart. [1913 Webster]
3. Moved or worked by pressure or flow of air; as, a pneumatic instrument; a pneumatic engine. [1913 Webster]
4. (Biol.) Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones. [1913 Webster]
5. Adapted for containing compressed air; inflated with air; as, a pneumatic cushion; a pneumatic tire, a tire formed of an annular tube of flexible fabric, as India rubber, suitable for being inflated with air. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Pneumatic action}, or {Pneumatic lever} (Mus.), a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move them.
{Pneumatic dispatch}, a system of tubes, leading to various points, through which letters, packages, etc., are sent, by the flow and pressure of air.
{Pneumatic elevator}, a hoisting machine worked by compressed air.
{Pneumatic pile}, a tubular pile or cylinder of large diameter sunk by atmospheric pressure.
{Pneumatic pump}, an air-exhausting or forcing pump.
{Pneumatic railway}. See {Atmospheric railway}, under {Atmospheric}.
{Pneumatic syringe}, a stout tube closed at one end, and provided with a piston, for showing that the heat produced by compressing a gas will ignite substances.
{Pneumatic trough}, a trough, generally made of wood or sheet metal, having a perforated shelf, and used, when filled with water or mercury, for collecting gases in chemical operations.
{Pneumatic tube}. See {Pneumatic dispatch}, above. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
