capstan

[ kap-stuh n, -stan ]

/ ˈkæp stən, -stæn /

noun

any of various windlasses, rotated in a horizontal plane by hand or machinery, for winding in ropes, cables, etc.

a rotating spindle or shaft, powered by an electric motor, that transports magnetic tape past the heads of a tape recorder at a constant speed.

Nearby words

capsian, capsicum, capsid, capsize, capsomere, capstan, capstan bar, capstan lathe, capstan table, capstone, capsula

Origin of capstan

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French cabestan(t) < Old Provençal cabestan, variant of cabestran, presumably present participle of *cabest(r)ar, a verbal derivative of cabestre halter < Latin capistrum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for capstan

His quick eye spied a capstan bar which he snatched up as a cudgel.
Blackbeard: Buccaneer|Ralph D. Paine
Finding the capstan, they dragged it up the side of the cliff.
White Fire|Roy J. Snell
Sir Samuel was the inventor of the speaking-trumpet, and also greatly improved the capstan and other instruments.
Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney|Geraldine Edith Mitton
Suddenly the capstan went round an inch; then another and another.
The Three Midshipmen|W.H.G. Kingston

I saw the boatswain speak to the steward,40 who left the wheel to help me with his weight against the capstan bar.
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, Volume 3 of 3|William Clark Russell

British Dictionary definitions for capstan

capstan

/ (ˈkæpstən) /

noun

a machine with a drum that rotates round a vertical spindle and is turned by a motor or lever, used for hauling in heavy ropes, etc

any similar device, such as the rotating shaft in a tape recorder that pulls the tape past the head

Word Origin for capstan

C14: from Old Provençal cabestan, from Latin capistrum a halter, from capere to seize

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012