pawl
See also: Pawl
English edit
Etymology edit
17th c., perhaps from Low German or Dutch pal (“catch (mechanism)”),[1] or from either French pal (“stake”) or épaule (“shoulder”).[2]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pawl (plural pawls)
- A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.
- 1910, Victor Appleton, Tom Swift and his Motorcycle:
- A pawl is a sort of catch that fits into a ratchet wheel and pushes it around, or it may be used as a catch to prevent the backward motion of a windlass or the wheel on a derrick.
- 1994, Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing:
- The nails in the rim of the wheel went ratcheting over the leather pawl and the wheel slowed and came to a stop and the woman turned to the crowd and smiled.
- A similar device to prevent motion in other mechanisms besides ratchets.
Hypernyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
pawl
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Verb edit
pawl (third-person singular simple present pawls, present participle pawling, simple past and past participle pawled)
- (transitive) To stop with a pawl.
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ “pawl”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “pawl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
