epicyclic train


noun Machinery.

a train of gears or pulleys in which one or more of the axes revolve about a central axis.

Origin of epicyclic train

First recorded in 1885–90

British Dictionary definitions for epicyclic train

epicyclic train

noun

a cluster of gears consisting of a central gearwheel with external teeth (the sun), a coaxial gearwheel of greater diameter with internal teeth (the annulus), and one or more planetary gears engaging with both of them to provide a large gear ratio in a compact space