Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Pawl"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pawl \Pawl\, v. t.
To stop with a pawl; to drop the pawls off.
{To pawl the capstan}. See under {Capstan}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pawl
n : a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a
wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward [syn: {detent},
{click}, {dog}]
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