Wankelengine

Wan·kel engine (vängʹkəl, wängʹ-, wăngʹ-) n.

A rotary internal-combustion engine in which a triangular rotor turning in a specially shaped housing performs the functions allotted to the pistons of a conventional engine, thereby allowing great savings in weight and moving parts.

  [After Felix Wankel (1902-1988), German engineer.]

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