Derrick

 WORD OF THE DAY

derrick / noun / DAIR-ik

Definition
1: a hoisting apparatus employing a tackle rigged at the end of a beam
2: a framework or tower over a deep drill hole (as of an oil well) for supporting boring tackle or for hoisting and lowering

Examples
Zora Chung, the company’s cofounder and CFO, points to an oil derrick lodged in the startup’s parking lot.
— Aarian Marshall, Wired, 2 Nov. 2021

Huntington Beach High School’s football team is still called the Oilers, and its icon is an oil derrick.
— Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021

Did You Know?
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, London was the home of a notorious executioner named Derick.
Among those he beheaded was the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, who according to a street ballad of the time had once saved the life of the ungrateful executioner.
While members of the nobility were accorded the courtesy of beheading, it was the lot of commoners to be hanged, and those sent to face the rope at the hands of the executioner Derick nicknamed the gallows at Tyburn after him.
Throughout the 17th century, "derick" was used as a name for both hangman and gallows. After the days of public hangings, the word derrick was adopted as a name for a number of less ominous frameworks or towers.