Adjacent Words

Pawl definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PAWL, n. [Eng. pole; L. palus. See Pole.] Among seamen, a short bar of wood or iron fixed close to the capstan or windlass of a ship to prevent it from rolling back or giving way.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward [syn: pawl, detent, click, dog]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: perhaps modification of Dutch pal pawl Date: 1626 a pivoted tongue or sliding bolt on one part of a machine that is adapted to fall into notches or interdental spaces on another part so as to permit motion in only one direction

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a lever with a catch for the teeth of a wheel or bar. 2 Naut. a short bar used to lock a capstan, windlass, etc., to prevent it from recoiling. --v.tr. secure (a capstan etc.) with a pawl. Etymology: perh. f. LG & Du. pal, rel. to pal fixed

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pawl Pawl, v. t. To stop with a pawl; to drop the pawls off. To pawl the capstan. See under Capstan.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pawl Pawl, n. [W. pawl a pole, a stake. Cf. Pole a stake.] (Mach.) A pivoted tongue, or sliding bolt, on one part of a machine, adapted to fall into notches, or interdental spaces, on another part, as a ratchet wheel, in such a manner as to permit motion in one direction and prevent it in the reverse, as in a windlass; a catch, click, or detent. See Illust. of Ratchet Wheel. [Written also paul, or pall.] Pawl bitt (Naut.), a heavy timber, set abaft the windlass, to receive the strain of the pawls. Pawl rim or ring (Naut.), a stationary metallic ring surrounding the base of a capstan, having notches for the pawls to catch in.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [Written also Paul and Pall.] Click, detent, catch, ratchet.