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windlass

Syllabification: (wind·lass)
Pronunciation: /ˈwindləs/
Definition of windlass

noun

  • a type of winch used especially on ships to hoist anchors and haul on mooring lines and, especially formerly, to lower buckets into and hoist them up from wells.

verb

[with object]
  • haul or lift (something) with a windlass.

Origin:

late Middle English: probably an alteration of obsolete windas, via Anglo-Norman French from Old Norse vindáss, literally 'winding pole'

windlass in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of windlass in the British & World English dictionary

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