windlass

[ wind-luh s ]

/ ˈwɪnd ləs /

noun

a device for raising or hauling objects, usually consisting of a horizontal cylinder or barrel turned by a crank, lever, motor, or the like, upon which a cable, rope, or chain winds, the outer end of the cable being attached directly or indirectly to the weight to be raised or the thing to be hauled or pulled; winch.

verb (used with object)

to raise, haul, or move (a load) by means of a windlass.

Nearby words

winding number, winding sheet, winding staircase, winding-up, windjammer, windlass, windle, windless, windlestraw, windmill, windmill grass

Origin of windlass

1350–1400; Middle English wind(e)las < Old Norse vindāss, equivalent to vinda to wind² + āss beam

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

Examples from the Web for windlass

When we went into the war we had never built a windlass for a kite balloon.
America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell
After a brief pause it was rapidly wound in on the barrel of the windlass.
Bloom of Cactus|Robert Ames Bennet
In the forefront was a windlass and a vast pile of earth and stones, for Peters was sinking a shaft.
In the Whirl of the Rising|Bertram Mitford
The men at the windlass ceased turning—leaving the policeman suspended half way down the shaft.
Lost Lenore|Charles Beach

To the right, a little way back from the next opening, a small fair-haired girl was rapidly winding in on a miner's windlass.
Bloom of Cactus|Robert Ames Bennet

British Dictionary definitions for windlass

windlass

/ (ˈwɪndləs) /

noun

a machine for raising weights by winding a rope or chain upon a barrel or drum driven by a crank, motor, etc

verb

(tr) to raise or haul (a weight, etc) by means of a windlass

Word Origin for windlass

C14: from Old Norse vindáss, from vinda to wind ² + ass pole; related to Old French guindas, Middle Low German, Dutch windas

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