n. [ OE. henge, heeng; akin to D. heng, LG. henge, Prov. E. hingle a small hinge; connected with hang, v., and Icel. hengja to hang. See Hang. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The hook with its eye, or the joint, on which a door, gate, lid, etc., turns or swings; a flexible piece, as a strip of leather, which serves as a joint to turn on. [ 1913 Webster ]

The gate self-opened wide,
On golden hinges turning. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That on which anything turns or depends; a governing principle; a cardinal point or rule; as, this argument was the hinge on which the question turned. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One of the four cardinal points, east, west, north, or south. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When the moon is in the hinge at East. Creech. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor slept the winds . . . but rushed abroad. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hinge joint. (a) (Anat.) See Ginglymus. (b) (Mech.) Any joint resembling a hinge, by which two pieces are connected so as to permit relative turning in one plane. --
To be off the hinges, to be in a state of disorder or irregularity; to have lost proper adjustment. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Hinged p. pr. & vb. n. Hinging ] 1. To attach by, or furnish with, hinges. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bend. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To stand, depend, hang, or turn, as on a hinge; to depend chiefly for a result or decision or for force and validity; -- usually with on or upon; as, the argument hinges on this point. I. Taylor [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with hinges. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a hinge or joint. [ 1913 Webster ]