capstan

[ kap-stuhn, -stan ]

/ ˈkæp stən, -stæn /

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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.

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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

Words nearby capstan

capsid, capsize, cap sleeve, capsomere, cap spinning, capstan, capstan bar, capstan lathe, capstan table, capstone, capsular

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use capstan in a sentence

"This organized conspiracy on your part," the capstan gurgled, taking his cue from the mast.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
I would drive her faster, but as the lift is hanging in the capstan rope under water, they are not willing to risk it.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
By the help of the capstan he had raised to the deck of the Durande the package which he had made of the lading of the sloop.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
The cargo of the sloop hoisted on to the deck by the capstan, compact as he had made it, was an encumbrance.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo

I tied myself around another capstan, and I says, "Good-night, Tommy!"
The Belted Seas|Arthur Colton

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