Etymology

windlass

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Today it means: Any of various forms of winch, in which a rope or cable is wound around a cylinder, used for lifting heavy weights. Full definition →

Middle English wyndlas ← Anglo-Norman windase ← Old Northern French windas
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The story

  1. Old Norse · derived fromvindáss“windlass”
  2. Old Northern French · derived fromwindas
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromwindase
  4. Middle English · inherited fromwyndlas
  5. English todaywindlass

From Middle English wyndlas, wyndelas, wyndlasse, wyndelasse, probably an alteration (due to Middle English windel) of Middle English windas, wyndas, wyndace, from Anglo-Norman windase, windeis and Old Northern French windas (compare Old French guindas, Medieval Latin windasius, windasa), from Old Norse vindáss (“windlass”, literally “winding-pole”), from vinda (“to wind”) + áss (“pole”). Compare Icelandic vindilass.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.