fulcrum \FOOL-kruhm\,
noun:
1. The support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns.
2. Any prop or support.
3. Zoology. Any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.
verb:
1. To fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.
An equal partnership is like a see-saw that sits on a fulcrum. There is a balance of power when one partner gives in and then the other does likewise.
-- Shirley Gunstream Poland, "Hearing the Silent Cries"
A storm of plans, each one trying to make me into a fulcrum.
-- Steven Erikson, "Memories of Ice"
Fulcrum originally referred to a bed post from the Latin word fulcire meaning "to prop up."
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