capstan
/ˈkæp.stən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.03 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "to pawl the capstan"
- "to rig the capstan"
- "to surge the capstan"
- ""Man the capstan! Blood and thunder!—jump!"—was the next command, and the crew sprang for the handspikes."
- "We toiled over the capstan, and late in the afternoon slipped out of the harbour."
- "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."
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”).