Sentence:  Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin "turbo", meaning "vortex", and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a <WSD>shaft</WSD> that can perform useful work. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Any long thin object, such as the handle of a tool, one of the poles between which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle, the driveshaft of a motorized vehicle with rear-wheel drive, an axle, etc.