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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



28 words match “CAPSTAN”

CAPSTAN n.
d 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 dro…
BRING v.
To cause (a vessel) to lie to, as by firing across her course. (d) To apply a rope to the capstan. -- To bring to light, to disclose; to discover; to make clear; to reveal. -- To bring a sail to (Naut.), to bend it to the yard. -- To bring to pass, to accomplish to effect. "Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it t…
COME v.
rise above the earth, as a plant. (d) To come into use, as a fashion. -- To come up the capstan (Naut.), to turn it the contrary way, so as to slacken the rope about it. -- To come up the tackle fall (Naut.), to slacken the tackle gently. Totten. -- To come up to, to rise to; to equal. -- To come up with, to overt…
CRAB n.
A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc.
DRUMHEAD n.
The top of a capstan which is pierced with sockets for levers used in turning it. See Illust. of Capstan. Drumhead court-martial (Mil.), a summary court-martial called to try offenses on the battlefield or the line of march, when, sometimes, a drumhead has to do service as a writing table.
FLEET v. 2 definitions
To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; - - said of a cable or hawser.
HANDSPIKE n.
A bar or lever, generally of wood, used in a windlass or capstan, for heaving anchor, and, in modified forms, for various purposes.
HEAVE v.
tack. -- To heave out a sail (Naut.), to unfurl it. -- To heave taut (Naut.), to turn a capstan, etc., till the rope becomes strained. See Taut, and Tight. -- To heave the lead (Naut.), to take soundings with lead and line. -- To heave the log. (Naut.) See Log. -- To heave up anchor (Naut.), to raise it from the b…
JACK n.
chanical powers, working in a compact pedestal or support and operated by a lever, crank, capstan bar, etc. The name is often given to a jackscrew, which is a kind of jack.
JEER n.
blage or combination of tackles, for hoisting or lowering the lower yards of a ship. Jeer capstan (Naut.), an extra capstan usually placed between the foremast and mainmast.
LEVER n.
A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
MESSENGER n.
A hawser passed round the capstan, and having its two ends lashed together to form an endless rope or chain; -- formerly used for heaving in the cable.
MOULINE; MOULINET n.
The drum upon which the rope is wound in a capstan, crane, or the like.
PARTNER n.
imber surrounding an opening in a deck, to strengthen it for the support of a mast, pump, capstan, or the like. Dormant, or Silent, partner. See under Dormant, a.
PAWL n. 2 definitions
pawls. -- Pawl rim or ring (Naut.), a stationary metallic ring surrounding the base of a capstan, having notches for the pawls to catch in.
PONTOON n.
A low, flat vessel, resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., chiefly in the Mediterranean; a lighter. Pontoon bridge, a bridge formed with pontoons. -- Pontoon train, the carriages of the pontoons, and the materials they ca…
PURCHASE n.
r advantage, applied to the raising or removing of heavy bodies, as by a lever, a tackle, capstan, and the like; also, the apparatus, tackle, or device by which the advantage is gained. A politician, to do great things, looks for a power -- what our workmen call a purchase. Burke.
RIG v.
to adapt apparatus so as to get a purchase for moving a weight, as with a lever, tackle, capstan, etc. -- To rig a ship (Naut.), to fit the shrouds, stays, braces, etc., to their respective masts and yards.
RUNDLE n.
Something which rotates about an axis, as a wheel, or the drum of a capstan. "An axis or cylinder having a rundle about it." Bp. Wilkins.
SAUCER n.
A shallow socket for the pivot of a capstan. Flying saucer, a type of Unidentified Flying Object, having a biconvex discoid shape; such objects are occasionally reported to have been sighted, but no example of one has been reliably shown to exist. They are believed by ufologists to originate in outer space, but they ar…
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