Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PULL'EY, n. [plur. Pulleys. Fr. poulie; Sp. pollα; L. polus; Gr. πολος, from πολεω, to turn.]

A small wheel turning on a pin in a block, with a furrow or groove in which runs the rope that turns it. The pulley is one of the mechanical powers. The word is used also in the general sense of tackle, to denote all parts of the machine for raising weights, of which the pulley forms a part.