as shortbus said, anyone can write an article in Wikipedia but not necessarily be right....IMHO...
I tend to agree with Shortbus. a cam requires a follower; a crank is used to convert linear to rotary motion or vice versa.
How big is your Santa?
so according to the Meriam-Webster Dictionary:
A CAM is a rotating or sliding piece (as an eccentric wheel or a cylinder with an irregular shape) in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice versa
so in your guys neck of the woods you use different terminology than what I do, cool, so be it.A CRANK is a bent part of an axle or shaft or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft by which circular motion is imparted to or received from the shaft or by which reciprocating motion is changed into circular motion or vice versa