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windlass

 
Dictionary: wind·lass   (wĭnd'ləs) pronunciation
 
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.

Any of numerous hauling or lifting machines consisting essentially of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank or a motor so that a line attached to the load is wound around the cylinder.

tr.v., -lassed, -lass·ing, -lass·es.

To raise with a windlass.

[Middle English wyndlas, alteration of windas, from Old Norse vindāss : vinda, to wind + āss, pole.]


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Architecture: windlass
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A modification of the wheel and axle used for lifting weights; usually an axle, turned by a crank, and a rope or chain wound around the axle for raising the weight.

 
WordNet: windlass
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable or rope winds
  Synonym: winch

 
Wikipedia: Windlass
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For the tool used to raise paddle gear on canal locks, see Windlass ("lock key")
Turnbridge Windlass Lift road bridge over Huddersfield Broad Canal
Differential windlass

A windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound around the winch, pulling a weight attached to the opposite end.

Windlasses are sometimes used on boats to raise the anchor as an alternative to a vertical capstan (see anchor windlass).

Windlasses can also be used to raise water from a well. The oldest description of a well windlass, a rotating wooden rod installed across the mouth of a well, is found in Isidore of Seville's (c. 560–636) Origenes (XX, 15, 1-3).[1] In the Late Middle Ages European crossbows employed a windlass as a cocking mechanism.

The oldest depiction of a windlass for raising water can be found in the Book of Agriculture published in 1313 by the Chinese official Wang Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty (fl. 1290–1333).


Differential windlass

In a differential windlass, also called a Chinese windlass,[2][3][4] there are two coaxial drums of different diameters r and r'. The rope is wound onto one drum while it unwinds from the other, with a movable pulley hanging in the bight between the drums. Since each turn of the crank raises the pulley and attached weight by only 2π(r - r'), very large mechanical advantages can be obtained.

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Windlass

References

  • Needham, Joseph. (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

Notes

  1. ^ Oleson, John Peter (1984), Greek and Roman Mechanical Water-lifting Devices. The History of a Technology, Dordrecht: D. Reidel, pp. 56f., ISBN 90-277-1693-5 
  2. ^ "Chinese". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
  3. ^ Morris, Christopher, ed. (1992), Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology, Gulf Professional Publishing, p. 416, ISBN 9780122004001 
  4. ^ Knight, Edward H. (1884), The Practical Dictionary of Mechanics, Cassell Petter & Galpin  "Chinese-windlass, a differential windlass in which the cord winds off one part of the barrel and on to the other."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Windlass
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - brøndvinde, spil, ankerspil
v. tr. - hejse

Nederlands (Dutch)
lier

Français (French)
n. - (gén) treuil, (Naut) guindeau
v. tr. - hisser avec un treuil

Deutsch (German)
n. - Winde
v. - mit einer Winde ziehen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μηχαν.) βαρούλκο, εργατοκύλινδρος, γερανός
v. - υψώνω με βαρούλκο

Italiano (Italian)
argano, mettere in trazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - molinete (m)
v. - guindar

Русский (Russian)
лебедка, ворот, брашпиль

Español (Spanish)
n. - torno, molinete
v. tr. - izar con el torno o molinete

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vindspel, vinsch
v. - hissa upp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
绞盘, 起锚机, 用绞盘吊起

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 絞盤, 起錨機
v. tr. - 用絞盤吊起

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 자아틀, 윈치, 양묘기
v. tr. - 기계로 감아 올리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 巻き上げ機

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مرفاع, مرفاع المرساة (فعل) يرفع بمرفع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כננת, מנוף‬
v. tr. - ‮משך בכננת‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Windlass".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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