PIVOT
Piv"ot, n. Etym: [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe. See
Pipe.]
1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.
2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.
3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.
4. (Mil.)
Defn: The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; — called also pivot man. Pivot bridge, a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis. — Pivot gun, a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction. — Pivot tooth (Dentistry), an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.
PIVOT
Piv"ot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pivoted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pivoting.]
Defn: To place on a pivot. Clarke.
PIVOTAL
Piv"ot*al, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to a pivot or turning point; belonging to, or constituting, a pivot; of the nature of a pivot; as, the pivotalopportunity of a career; the pivotal position in a battle.