Definition of bascule

< BASc

base >

bas·cule    (bskyl) KEY 

NOUN:

A device or structure, such as a drawbridge, counterbalanced so that when one end is lowered the other is raised.

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ETYMOLOGY:
French, seesaw : bas, low (from Medieval Latin bassus) + cul, bottom (from Latin clus, rump; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots)