Steel"yard (?), n. [So named from a
place in London called the Steelyard, which was a yard in which
steel was sold.] A form of balance in which the body to be
weighed is suspended from the shorter arm of a lever, which turns on a
fulcrum, and a counterpoise is caused to slide upon the longer arm to
produce equilibrium, its place upon this arm (which is notched or
graduated) indicating the weight; a Roman balance; -- very commonly
used also in the plural form, steelyards.
Steel"yard (?), n. [So named from a
place in London called the Steelyard, which was a yard in which
steel was sold.] A form of balance in which the body to be
weighed is suspended from the shorter arm of a lever, which turns on a
fulcrum, and a counterpoise is caused to slide upon the longer arm to
produce equilibrium, its place upon this arm (which is notched or
graduated) indicating the weight; a Roman balance; -- very commonly
used also in the plural form, steelyards.