capstan

plural capstans · alternative obsolete capstern · alternative obsolete capstorm

1. especiallynauticalA vertical cylindrical machine that revolves on a spindle, typically surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for levers for turning it; used to apply force to cables, ropes, etc.

   to rig the capstan

   to prepare the capstan for use

   5 more examples

   to pawl the capstan

   to prevent the capstan from turning back

   to surge the capstan

   to slack the tension of the rope or cable

   "Man the capstan! Blood and thunder!—jump!"—was the next command, and the crew sprang for the handspikes.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

   We toiled over the capstan, and late in the afternoon slipped out of the harbour.

   1951, W. I. B. Crealock, Vagabonding Under Sail, Hastings House (New York), page 211

   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.

   2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4

2. businessA rotating spindle used to move recording tape through the mechanism of a tape recorder.
3. entertainmenta screw on the rising side of a piano key, which serves the function of lifting the wippen when the key is depressed

   The upward force of the capstan causes the wippen to rise, thrusting the jack upward into another component called the “knuckle” that is fixed to one end of the hammer shank.

   (Can we date this quote?), Kawai