[a. F. bascule, formerly bacule a see-saw, f. battre to beat, bump, or bas low, down + cul the posteriors.] An apparatus acting on the principle of the lever or pulley, whereby one end is raised when the other is depressed; esp. in Bascule-bridge, a kind of drawbridge, balanced by a counterpoise that rises or falls, usually into a prepared pit, as the bridge is lowered or raised.
1678. Phil. Trans., XII. 1007. At the Extremity of this Bascule is ty’d a Cord which passes through the Pully.
1883. Pall Mall Gaz., 11 Sept., 11/2. A weighing machine on the bascule principle.
1884. Daily News, 29 Oct., 5/3. This [a ‘bascule’ or lifting bridge] … would be more speedily opened than a swing bridge…. Steamboats and small craft generally would not require the opening of the bascule.
