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Capstan

 - 3 dictionary results
Winches/Capstan Hoists
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cap⋅stan

  [kap-stuhn, -stan]
Use Capstan in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various windlasses, rotated in a horizontal plane by hand or machinery, for winding in ropes, cables, etc.
2. a rotating spindle or shaft, powered by an electric motor, that transports magnetic tape past the heads of a tape recorder at a constant speed.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < MF cabestan(t) < OPr cabestan, var. of cabestran, presumably prp. of *cabest(r)ar, a v. deriv. of cabestre halter < L capistrum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Winches/Capstan Hoists
Free Shipping, Fast Delivery. Call us at: 1-866-HOISTS1.
www.hoistsdirect.com
Portable Capstan Winch
We'll answer all of your questions $1295.00 Free Shipping
www.werenotscared.com
cap·stan   (kāp'stən, -stān')   
n.  

  1. Nautical An apparatus used for hoisting weights, consisting of a vertical spool-shaped cylinder that is rotated manually or by machine and around which a cable is wound.

  2. A small cylindrical shaft used to drive magnetic tape at a constant speed in a tape recorder.


[Middle English, from Norman French, from Old Provençal cabestan, from cabestre, noose, from Latin capistrum, halter, probably from capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

capstan 
c.1325, from O.Fr. cabestant, from O.Prov. cabestan, from capestre "pulley cord," from L. capistrum "halter," from capere "to hold, take" (see capable).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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