足あし掛かけ

noun

leg trip

A technique in sumo, judo, and other martial arts where one sweeps or hooks the opponent's leg to unbalance them.

• 彼かれは足あし掛かけで相あい手てを倒たおした。

  He tripped his opponent with a leg hook.

noun

foothold; pedal

A place to put one's foot; also used for pedals on bicycles, sewing machines, etc. Less common than 足場 for scaffolding footholds.

• 岩いわに足あし掛かけを見みつけて登のぼった。

  I found a foothold on the rock and climbed up.

• ミシンの足あし掛かけを踏ふんで動うごかす。

  You operate the sewing machine by pressing the pedal.

noun, used as a prefix

spanning (years, months, etc.)

Used as a prefix to indicate a period that spans across calendar units, counting partial start and end units as full ones. Common in expressions like 足掛け3年 (spanning three calendar years).

• このプロジェクトは足あし掛かけ3年ねんにわたった。

  This project spanned three calendar years.