Derricking

/ˈdɛrɪkɪŋ/ verb

Definition

The present participle of 'derrick,' meaning to hoist or lift something using a derrick (a type of crane).

Etymology

From 'derrick' (a crane or hoisting apparatus), which was named after Derrick, a 17th-century London executioner who invented a type of gallows. The term eventually became generalized to any similar hoisting device.

Kelly Says

It's wild that a machine used for lifting cargo got its name from an executioner—Derrick was so well-known for his grim profession that his name became immortalized in industrial vocabulary!

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