? originally a turnspit dog; transferred a roasting-jack or similar instrument.

A device for turning a spit for roasting meat over an open fire; = roasting-jack, n. Now historical.

a device for turning a spit.

A roasting-jack. rare.

a roasting jack hung before a fire.

An apparatus for turning a roasting-spit, fixed in a chimney and set in motion by the current of air passing up this.

A device for turning a spit for roasting meat over an open fire. Cf. Jack, n.2 5.

Originally Scottish. A water-driven roasting-jack.

(a) a jack for roasting meat, whose mechanism is housed in a bottle-shaped casing (now historical); †(b) an escapement in a clock or watch…

a spit with a turning mechanism (see quot. 1967).