winch

Etymology 1

From Middle English wynche, from Old English winċe, from Proto-Germanic *winkijǭ, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”), whence also wink.

noun

1. A machine consisting of a drum on an axle, a friction brake or ratchet and pawl, and a crank handle or prime mover (often an electric or hydraulic motor), with or without gearing, to give increased mechanical advantage when hoisting or hauling on a rope or cable.
2. (nautical) A hoisting machine used for loading or discharging cargo, or for hauling in lines. (FM 55-501).
   It runs on clattering steel tracks; the driver sits in a cab over the tracks, operating the controls that rotate the arm and turn the winch. 2013, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 27, in The Childhood of Jesus, Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company, page 267
3. A wince (machine used in dyeing or steeping cloth).
4. A kick, as of an animal, from impatience or uneasiness.
5. (Nigeria, slang) Witch.

verb

1. To use a winch
   Winch in those sails, lad!

Etymology 2

See wince.

verb

1. To wince; to shrink
   It is not the first time a cat-o'-nine-tails has been across my back for other men's misdeeds. Promise me a good flask of brandy when I'm done with it, and I warrant ye I'll never winch. 1812, Joanna Baillie, The Dream, part Act 1
2. To kick with impatience or uneasiness.