2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Capstan  \Cap"stan\,  n.  [F.  cabestan  fr  Sp  cabestrante 
  cabrestante  fr  cabestrar  to  bind  with  a  halter,  fr 
  cabestrohalter  fr  L.  capistrum  halter,  fr  capere  to  hold 
  (see  {Capacious});  or  perh.  the  Spanish  is  fr  L.  caper  goat 
  +  stans,  p.  pr  of  stare  to  stand  cf  F.  ch[`e]vre  she-goat, 
  also  a  machine  for  raising  heavy  weights.] 
  A  vertical  cleated  drum  or  cylinder,  revolving  on  an  upright 
  spindle,  and  surmounted  by  a  drumhead  with  sockets  for  bars 
  or  levers.  It  is  much  used  especially  on  shipboard,  for 
  moving  or  raising  heavy  weights  or  exerting  great  power  by 
  traction  upon  a  rope  or  cable,  passing  around  the  drum.  It  is 
  operated  either  by  steam  power  or  by  a  number  of  men  walking 
  around  the  capstan,  each  pushing  on  the  end  of  a  lever  fixed 
  in  its  socket.  [Sometimes  spelt  {Capstern},  but  improperly.] 
 
  {Capstan  bar},  one  of  the  long  bars  or  levers  by  which  the 
  capstan  is  worked  a  handspike.. 
 
  {To  pawl  the  capstan},  to  drop  the  pawls  so  that  they  will 
  catch  in  the  notches  of  the  pawl  ring,  and  prevent  the 
  capstan  from  turning  back 
 
  {To  rig  the  capstan},  to  prepare  the  for  use  by  putting  the 
  bars  in  the  sockets. 
 
  {To  surge  the  capstan},  to  slack  the  tension  of  the  rope  or 
  cable  wound  around  it 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  capstan 
  n  :  a  windlass  rotated  in  a  horizontal  plane 

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