fulcrum

name

1. NATO code name for the Soviet MiG-29 aircraft.

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin fulcrum (“bedpost, foot of a couch”), from fulciō (“prop up, support”).

1. The support about which a lever pivots.

   “It is possible to flick food across the table using your fork as a lever and your finger as a fulcrum.”

   “MILDRED: Archimedes said give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it and I will move the world. CHARLOTTE: Yeah she said that twaddle eight or nine times.”

2. A crux or pivot; a central point.

   “By this point the fulcrum of concern is the stuprum of men upon men, described as more prevalent than that upon women.”

   “Chelsea's Mason Mount is a top-class talent while West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has moved his game on to another level this season and will be the fulcrum of England's midfield this summer.”