Re: Apalled at spelling of Pawl!NAC

[Scott Fisher <sfisher71@domain.elided>]

--- Alan Lambert <lechefgerard@domain.elided> wrote:
> Uh--John--doesn't "horological" refer to time or
> timepiece?????

Hey, a chance for me to describe how clocks are made!
:-)

Short (for me) answer: Yes, exactly.  The pawl is
widely used as part of the mechanism of mechanical
clocks and watches.  However, the first recorded use
of the word in the OED, from 1606, is in a nautical
context, as a mechanism to keep a capstan from
slipping when pulling up an anchor.  The pawl was also
used as part of a trigger mechanism for crossbows,
among other implements of destruction; the first pawl
I ever made was in fact for a crossbow I built about
25 years ago.  

--Scott Fisher
  Tualatin, Oregon
.
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