Capstan Definition

kăpstən, -stăn
capstans
noun
An apparatus, mainly on ships, around which cables or hawsers are wound for hoisting anchors, lifting weights, etc.: it consists of an upright, spool-shaped cylinder that is turned on an inner shafting by machinery or by hand.
Webster's New World
A rotating spindle in a tape recorder mechanism that regulates the speed at which the tape is driven past the head.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Capstan

Noun

Singular:
capstan
Plural:
capstans

Origin of Capstan

  • Middle English from Norman French from Old Provençal cabestan from cabestre noose from Latin capistrum halter probably from capere to seize kap- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From French cabestan, of uncertain origin.

    From Wiktionary

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