Pivot

n. [Fr. pivot, for pipot, from pipe, a pipe, or contracted from pieuvot, dim. of pieu, a stake; It. piuolo, a peg or pin.]

1. A pin or short axis fixed only at one end, and on which a wheel or other body turns; the end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of a transit instrument; the pivot of a watch.
2. Hence, a turning point; that on which important results depend.
3. (Mil.) The officer or soldier upon whom the different wheelings are made in the various evolutions of the drill.