Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828) result(s)
from the 1913 Cap"stan (?), n. [F. cabestan, fr. Sp.
cabestrante, cabrestante, fr. cabestrar to bind with a halter,
fr. cabestrohalter, fr. L. capistrum halter, fr. capere to hold
(see Capacious); or perh. the Spanish is fr. L. caper goat +
stans, p. pr. of stare to stand; cf. F. ch\'8avre she-goat, also
a machine for raising heavy weights.] A vertical cleated drum or
cylinder, revolving on an upright spindle, and surmounted by a
drumhead with sockets for bars or levers. It is much used,
especially on shipboard, for moving or raising heavy weights or
exerting great power by traction upon a rope or cable, passing
around the drum. It is operated either by steam power or by a
number of men walking around the capstan, each pushing on the
end of a lever fixed in its socket. [Sometimes spelt Capstern,
but improperly.] Capstan bar, one of the long bars or levers by
which the capstan is worked; a handspike.. -- To pawl the
capstan, to drop the pawls so t