capstan

English

A capstan on a sailing vessel.

Alternative forms

capstern (obsolete)
capstorm (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed into Middle English from either Old French cabestan, from Old Occitan cabestan, from cabestre (“pulley cord”) or from Spanish cabestran, both of which derive from Latin capistrum (“halter”), from capiō (“take hold of”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈkæp.stən/
Audio (UK) (file)

Noun

capstan (plural capstans)

(nautical) A vertical cylindrical machine that revolves on a spindle, used to apply force to ropes, cables, etc. It is typically surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for levers used to turn it.
- 1951, W. I. B. Crealock, Vagabonding Under Sail, Hastings House (New York), page 211:
  We toiled over the capstan, and late in the afternoon slipped out of the harbour.
- 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
  Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
(electronics) A rotating spindle used to move recording tape through the mechanism of a tape recorder.

Derived terms

capstan bar - one of the long bars or levers by which the capstan is worked; a handspike.
capstan screw
capstanman
jeer capstan
pawl the capstan - to drop the pawls so that they will catch in the notches of the pawl ring, and prevent the capstan from turning back.
rig the capstan - to prepare the for use, by putting the bars in the sockets.
surge the capstan - to slack the tension of the rope or cable wound around it.

Translations

cylindrical machine

Chinese:
Mandarin: 絞盤／绞盘 (zh) (jiǎopán)
Danish: gangspil n, spil n
Dutch: kaapstander (nl) m
Finnish: vintturi (fi), vorokki, käyntikela; ankkuripeli (fi) (anchor)
French: cabestan (fr) m
German: Spill n, Gangspill (de) n, (for anchor also) Ankerspill (de) n, Ankerwinde f
Greek:
Ancient: ὁλκός m (holkós), ἀνέμη f (anémē)
Hebrew: כַּנָּן‎ (he) m (kanan)
Italian: cabestano (it) m
Japanese: キャプスタン (kyapusutan)
Korean: 캡스턴 (kaepseuteon)
Latin: sucula f
Maori: huritaura
Norman: capeste m, vitheveau m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: gangspill n, forhalingsvinsj m, capstan m
Nynorsk: gangspel n, forhalingsvinsj m
Polish: kabestan (pl) m
Portuguese: cabrestante (pt) m
Romanian: ax (ro) n
Russian: кабеста́н (ru) m (kabestán), во́рот (ru) m (vórot), nautical шпиль (ru) m (špilʹ)
Spanish: cabrestante (es) m
Swedish: ankarbult c, ankarspel n, vindspel (sv) n, gångspel n
Ukrainian: кабеста́н (uk) m (kabestán)

part of a tape recorder

Danish: kapstanaksel c
Finnish: vetoakseli (fi)
French: cabestan (fr) m
German: Capstan m, Bandantriebsrolle f, Tonwelle f
Korean: 캡스턴 (kaepseuteon)
Swedish: kapstan c, kapstanaxel c

Anagrams

cat naps, cat-naps, catnaps